Court papers: Wantagh fire department medic alleges she was raped by a department chief and a captain
A file photograph of Wantagh Fire Department's Station 4 on Alken Avene in Seaford. Credit: Google Maps
A volunteer Wantagh Fire Department medic alleges in a new lawsuit that she was plied with alcohol during a party at a station house last year and then violently raped by a department chief and captain.
The lawsuit, filed last week in Nassau County Supreme Court, names as defendants the Wantagh Fire District and fire department and a former fire department chief and a captain.
The suit alleges assault, battery, negligence and the intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeks unspecified damages for both physical and psychological damages, lawyer's fees and a jury trial. Newsday is not naming the medic, who is a woman in her mid-20s who works as a physician's assistant, because she is the alleged victim of sexual assault.
"Their conduct is of the most despicable kind and they knew what they were doing to someone who was basically defenseless," said the woman's Stony Brook-based attorney Vesselin Mitev. "To them she was just a sexual object."
An attorney for the fire district and fire department did not respond to a message seeking comment Monday. The former fire chief and the captain also did not respond to messages.
The lawsuit alleges that on the night of Jan. 14, 2022, the woman attended a birthday party for the captain at station house No. 4 where she was "encouraged to consume various liquors such as Malibu and Black Death," an Icelandic spirit, as part of an alleged "premeditated" plan to get her so intoxicated that she "would not be able to consent to their advances" so they could "take advantage of her impaired state and sexually assault her."
The captain allegedly put his hand on the woman's thigh, an unwanted advance, as they sat at the bar inside the station house's Company Room, according to the suit.
Sometime after 2 a.m. on Jan. 15, the former chief "cleared" the station house of the other party attendees and [the captain] "began forcing himself" on the woman, who repeatedly told him "no" and "this is a bad idea," the lawsuit says.
The captain kissed the woman against her will and replied "come on" and "what is a bad idea?" as she struggled to get away, according to the lawsuit, which says she was too intoxicated to leave.
"We know you like it," the former fire chief said to the woman, according to the lawsuit, and told her she was the captain's birthday "present" and also allegedly kissed her against her will.
The defendants then allegedly took the woman into the bathroom and raped her, according to the lawsuit. After the chief left, the captain allegedly took her into the Officer's Room and continued the assault, the lawsuit says.
She arrived home around 4 a.m. and received a text from the chief, the lawsuit says. "Had fun last night," the text read. "But remember that's between you me and [...] only forever."
Mitev called the text "a clear admission of the grotesque rape."
The woman, who is on an indefinite leave from the fire department, has not filed a police report but is "keeping her options open," Mitev said.
"She agonized over this," said Mitev. "It was heartbreaking to watch her at the deposition. ...She was reduced to a puddle of tears."
A volunteer Wantagh Fire Department medic alleges in a new lawsuit that she was plied with alcohol during a party at a station house last year and then violently raped by a department chief and captain.
The lawsuit, filed last week in Nassau County Supreme Court, names as defendants the Wantagh Fire District and fire department and a former fire department chief and a captain.
The suit alleges assault, battery, negligence and the intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeks unspecified damages for both physical and psychological damages, lawyer's fees and a jury trial. Newsday is not naming the medic, who is a woman in her mid-20s who works as a physician's assistant, because she is the alleged victim of sexual assault.
"Their conduct is of the most despicable kind and they knew what they were doing to someone who was basically defenseless," said the woman's Stony Brook-based attorney Vesselin Mitev. "To them she was just a sexual object."
An attorney for the fire district and fire department did not respond to a message seeking comment Monday. The former fire chief and the captain also did not respond to messages.
The lawsuit alleges that on the night of Jan. 14, 2022, the woman attended a birthday party for the captain at station house No. 4 where she was "encouraged to consume various liquors such as Malibu and Black Death," an Icelandic spirit, as part of an alleged "premeditated" plan to get her so intoxicated that she "would not be able to consent to their advances" so they could "take advantage of her impaired state and sexually assault her."
The captain allegedly put his hand on the woman's thigh, an unwanted advance, as they sat at the bar inside the station house's Company Room, according to the suit.
Sometime after 2 a.m. on Jan. 15, the former chief "cleared" the station house of the other party attendees and [the captain] "began forcing himself" on the woman, who repeatedly told him "no" and "this is a bad idea," the lawsuit says.
The captain kissed the woman against her will and replied "come on" and "what is a bad idea?" as she struggled to get away, according to the lawsuit, which says she was too intoxicated to leave.
"We know you like it," the former fire chief said to the woman, according to the lawsuit, and told her she was the captain's birthday "present" and also allegedly kissed her against her will.
The defendants then allegedly took the woman into the bathroom and raped her, according to the lawsuit. After the chief left, the captain allegedly took her into the Officer's Room and continued the assault, the lawsuit says.
She arrived home around 4 a.m. and received a text from the chief, the lawsuit says. "Had fun last night," the text read. "But remember that's between you me and [...] only forever."
Mitev called the text "a clear admission of the grotesque rape."
The woman, who is on an indefinite leave from the fire department, has not filed a police report but is "keeping her options open," Mitev said.
"She agonized over this," said Mitev. "It was heartbreaking to watch her at the deposition. ...She was reduced to a puddle of tears."
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
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Newsday Live Music Series: Long Island Idols Newsday Live presents a special evening of music and conversation with local singers who grabbed the national spotlight on shows like "The Voice," "America's Got Talent,""The X-Factor" and "American Idol." Newsday Senior Lifestyle Host Elisa DiStefano leads a discussion and audience Q&A as the singers discuss their TV experiences, careers and perform original songs.
