MIDLAND - In 1987, Midland police Sgt. Andy Glasscock was among first responders called to an abandoned 25-foot water-well shaft to rescue 18-month-old Jessica McClure.
The nation held its breath as rescuers worked day and night to hoist baby Jessica out of the well to safety. For Glasscock, the ensuing stress proved too much to take.
Interviewed July 11 at Ector County Jail in Odessa, where he was held temporarily after pleading guilty to state sexual assault charges, Glasscock said that after the rescue he found himself addicted to excitement — and Internet pornography.
"That's the one thing Jessica did — adrenaline," he said. "I seemed to have to have more and more to function. After the Jessica rescue, I went and sought help because it was nearly destroying my marriage. I was always on TV and got the big head."
Midland Police Chief John Urby said he is sorely disappointed. "We're high-exposure, high-profile people held to a higher standard, and Andy didn't live up to his end of the deal," Urby said.

Locked up

Glasscock, 53, pleaded guilty to drugging and raping a 51-year-old Odessa woman in 2003 and to federal charges of possessing child pornography and videotape of a 12-year-old girl undressing in his bathroom.
On the federal charges, he now is in federal prison in Cumberland, Md., for 15 1/2 years. He is also serving concurrent 20-year state sentences for rape.
Glasscock's best friend and his 25-year-old daughter have more personal perspectives on the native of Big Lake.
"My dad was a wonderful cop and never used his badge to do something he shouldn't have," Jennifer Glasscock said. "He always wanted to help instead of busting down on everybody."
Midland police Sgt. Mike McLain has been Glasscock's friend for more than 20 years.
"There's not a guy in the world who ever loved his kids more than Andy," he said, noting that Glasscock had been divorced from his second wife for about a year when he got into trouble.
"I had watched him over the years be Mr. Mom. He did quite a bit of the child-raising and was the most energetic big guy I've ever seen."

Discovering a dark side

But Odessa police Sgt. Paul Shepherd and Texas Ranger Jess Malone discovered a dark side when they interviewed Glasscock the night of his arrest.
He admitted having gone out with the victim but denied raping her. A hospital examination of the victim showed abrasions and bruises in critical areas.
"I'm a guy who likes sex, but I don't have to go out and force sex on anybody," Glasscock said. "I would never do that."
He admitted having viewed all types of pornography but said he was only interested in having sex with adult women. "Would I have sex with a little kid?" he asked.
But he added: "Have I ever looked at child porn on the computer? Yeah, I have. It's there, and tons of it. I look at that as they're the only thing that's innocent on the whole thing."

'God is with me'

In her police interview, the victim described Glasscock spiking her drink with Ambien, a sleeping medication. She had gone with him to an Odessa restaurant, then to see the season's lights there and in Midland.
She said he stopped after leaving the restaurant and uncorked wine while standing at the back door on the passenger's side of his vehicle.
"He took a while to do this, so I turned around and asked if he needed help," she told the officers. "He acted kind of strange and said, 'No.' Then he gave me a plastic cup of wine. He had a camera, which I thought was odd."
Their return to Odessa "was about the time I started blacking out," she recalled. "I don't remember going to my house, but I remember being in my house and being very relaxed."
During the hazy hours in which Glasscock fondled, undressed and assaulted her, she said, she kept noticing him with the camera. She repeatedly pushed him away and told him to stop and leave, but he "kept telling me he would leave in a few minutes," she said.
There were reports during state and federal investigations that Glasscock had raped other women, and Shepherd said he "would say there was evidence of such," though no other victims have come forward.
Glasscock said: "I look at it like the old cartoons back in the '60s where they showed God on one shoulder and the devil on the other and both of them arguing back and forth through your head. Satan won out, but he's not going to win anymore. God is with me."