EX-S.D. FIREFIGHTER SENTENCED FOR UNLAWFUL SEX WITH GIRL, 17

Gets year in custody, must register as sex offender for life

A former San Diego firefighter who pleaded guilty to a felony count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor was sentenced Wednesday to one year in custody and placed on probation for a term of two years. Justin Curtis Price, 36, formerly a fire engineer-paramedic who had been with the San Diego FireRescue Department for 10 years, pleaded guilty last year for the encounter with the teenage victim, who had turned 17 a few weeks earlier.

Price, who had known the victim since she was 9 years old, was arrested about six months after the encounter, in April 2019.

Fire-Rescue Department leaders suspended Price at the time of his arrest, and he was no longer employed with the department by the time of his October 2019 preliminary hearing.

His sentence includes 365 days in custody, which Price can serve in the work furlough program if he qualifies. The judge ordered him to register as a sex offender for life.

The original plea agreement was reached with the understanding that Price would be placed on probation for five years, but recent changes to state law that went into effect Jan. 1 meant the maximum probationary period that could be imposed was two years.

During the San Diego Superior Court hearing, prosecutor Jessica Coto read a statement from the victim, who said she had trusted Price “completely” at a particularly fragile period in her life when she was struggling with depression and anxiety.

“I’ve questioned asking him for support that day constantly,” the victim said.

She and her mother asked the court to impose the longest custodial sentence possible, as well as sex offender registration.

According to testimony presented at the preliminary hearing, Price admitted in text messages with his wife to having sex with the teen about two weeks after her 17th birthday. Price’s wife testified that her husband was aware the girl had some mental health issues.

San Diego police Detective Jeremy Margolis testified that he interviewed the victim, who said Price told her not to tell anyone about what happened between the two of them, and that it would be “our little secret.”

Price made a statement in court Wednesday in which he said he did not “deserve (the victim’s) forgiveness or trust, and I don’t expect you to forgive me. I was selfish and immature and all I can ever think of is how much I want to take it all back.”

“I know that I have to live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life,” he said. “I know that I have destroyed my own reputation, betrayed the trust of my family, my parents and the community. I know that it will take a long time before anyone may even begin to trust me.”