TBI: Nude Photos Found On Mayor’s Bodyguard’s Phone

NASHVILLE, TN — Nude photographs of a woman discovered on the city-issued cell phone of Mayor Megan Barry’s former security chief may provide evidence the pair conducted their affair at taxpayer expense, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation alleges.

In an application for a search warrant for Barry’s phone filed Thursday, a TBI agent said two nude images of a woman were recovered from Rob Forrest’s cell phone, both taken during times he was clocked in for duty as the chief of the mayor’s security detail.

While the photos do not show the woman’s face, the TBI agent says the woman depicted therein is wearing the same clothes the mayor wore during appearances the same day the photos were taken and that one includes a purse similar to one carried by the mayor during a radio interview on the same day.

“Your affiant believes probable cause exists to show that Rob Forrest was indeed not working at the time [the photos] were taken but was rather participating in the affair with Megan Barry at these time,” the agent wrote.

In addition to the photos, the TBI recovered 260 deleted chats and 35 deleted call logs between Forrest’s phone and the mayor’s, according to the warrant application.

The mayor’s lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin, told The Tennessean if the pictures are of the mayor, they were taken without her knowledge. He also questioned why the warrant application was not filed under seal.

He said the mayor has been in discussions with the TBI about turning over her phone voluntarily, though she has declined to turn over her passcode.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the mayor reiterated Martin's points:

“The allegations of photos taken of myself are very troubling and infuriating if true. While I have not seen the photos in question, if they were of me, they were taken without my knowledge or permission and a complete invasion of my privacy.

“Nothing in the affidavits released today, which should have been sealed until the conclusion of this investigation, indicates that I have committed any actions that violate the law. If any violations of the law occurred, they were in violating my personal rights.

“We will continue to cooperate with the ongoing TBI investigation, but the release of this affidavit to the media in an attempt to politically damage or embarrass me is an example of why I will continue to protect my personal rights in this process.”

The affidavit was publicly available through the clerk's office; the TBI told Tennessean reporter Dave Boucher its warrant applications are "seldom sealed."

The photos were taken in May and October 2017, both in Washington, D.C. and on trips which Forrest took with the mayor.

Since she admitted to the affair with Forrest, Barry has repeatedly insisted the pair never pursued the affair on city time and that there was no wrongdoing. She has insisted she won’t resign.

District Attorney General Glenn Funk asked the TBI to investigate if any wrongdoing occurred. The Metro Council is pursuing its own investigation.

Photo via Office of the Mayor