SCENERIO:

In Kennewick, Washington, I hold the position of Commander of the Major Crimes Unit at the Kennewick Police Department. It's a late afternoon on Sunday, and I have been called to convey the following information by the Major Crimes Unit's on-call Detective sergeant:

When detectives arrived at the forty-year-old woman's home, she reported that her sixteen-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted earlier in the day at the local fire station by a city firefighter. When they spoke with the daughter, she revealed that she first messaged the firefighter on social media. He asked her to come "for a tour" of the fire station. After forcing her to wear department-issue attire and pose nude for pictures, she claims the firefighter had sex with her on top of the fire engine in the fire station, away from other staff members. The sixteen-year-old's boyfriend served as a driving force for her decision to inform authorities of this. She was unwilling to report the incident.

Investigators visited the firehouse and spoke with the concerned firefighter. He revealed to them his marital status. He does, however, belong to Adult Friend Finder, a service that connects people looking for discreet relationships. When asked about his interactions with the sixteen-year-old, the firefighter was genuinely shocked to learn that she was sixteen. Using the Department's computer at the fire station, the fireman went online and provided the Detectives with his profile and the profile of the alleged victim. The sixteen-year-old there claims to be twenty-one years old in her profile, and she looks to be twenty-one in her profile photo. The firefighter acknowledged initiating an online dialogue with the woman. They texted back and forth and swapped cell phone numbers after they were comfortable with one another. He eventually set up their meeting at the firehouse. He showed the detectives these texts, which seemed to be friendly and agreeable.

The firefighter admits that the woman entered the station willingly when asked about the sexual activity. He led the woman to the fire engine bay while the other two workers were in the break room. They ascended to the top of the fire engine together. He said that he had taken pictures of the woman wearing firefighter gear at various degrees of undress. He also snapped pictures of them kissing. He gave the Detectives the digital camera he had used to capture the pictures. In order to verify that the digital photos were, in fact, illicitly sexualized pictures of minors and the juvenile in issue, they skimmed through them. The claimed victim, a female, was seen in the photos appearing to consent to and enjoy their sexual encounter.

`The two Detectives went over RCW 9.68A Sexual Exploitation of Children together. They came to the conclusion that the fireman had not broken any laws. At the prosecutor's office, they summoned a prosecutor. The prosecutor confirmed. They claimed they lacked the right to confiscate the pictures, but since the firefighter now knew the woman was, in fact, sixteen, Detectives erased the pictures from the SD card on the camera and gave it back to him.

The sixteen-year-old girl's mother and boyfriend demanded that the fireman be arrested in an Internal Affairs complaint against the two detectives after learning of the officers' decision. The two detectives should be fired, according the mayor of Kennewick's ultimatum to the police chief.

In my capacity as the Cybercrime Unit's supervisor, I will go over every concern that has come up thus far before directing, outlining, and going over any new concerns that may or may not come up as a result of my guidance in this subject.

Legal Issues: Here, you should discuss the legal issues involved with each facet of this scenario (past, present, and future), critically examining each point. Remember to identify, assess, and interpret all of the evidence before you as it relates to its introduction as evidence in court, both criminal and civil