A 31-year veteran of the St. John’s Regional Fire Department has been charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.
The charges against 52-year-old Ron Pomeroy were laid just before Christmas.
The offences are alleged to have occurred between February and May of last year.
The identity of the complainant, a female under the age of 18, is banned from publication.
But the charges allege Pomeroy committed the acts while in a position of trust or authority toward that person.
The firefighters’ union declined comment, referring VOCM News to the City of St. John’s. The city also declined, except to say it does not comment publicly on human resource matters.
Pomeroy is a captain with the department, a former firefighter of the year, and former board member with the executive of the union, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1075.
His current status with the department is not clear.
In 2019 he received the Governor General’s Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal.
Pomeroy’s first court appearance is set for January 25.
He’s the second, high-ranking St. John’s firefighter to face criminal charges in the past couple of years.
Forty-nine-year-old George Pottle, a lieutenant, was charged with assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon and uttering threats against his former common-law partner.
He was acquitted of assault with a weapon and uttering threats in 2022, but found guilty of assault and sentenced to 90 days in jail.