Nov. 08--A Columbus firefighter repeatedly had sex with a young woman at his Hilltop fire station while on duty, then lied about it when questioned, an internal investigation by the Columbus Division of Fire has found.
Marc Cain, 48, who has been with the Fire Division since 1989, has been under investigation for six months. He has remained on active duty but was reassigned to another station.
Last night, Cain did not return a phone call to his Pickaway County home seeking comment.
More than 85 interviews were conducted during the investigation, which has fueled controversy within the Fire Division and could result in other firefighters being disciplined, fire officials have said.
At one point, Assistant Chief David Whiting removed himself from supervising the case because he had talked with Cain and other firefighters outside the official investigation. Whiting later told The Dispatch that he had done that because the young woman's father had threatened to kill Cain.
The report findings, dated Oct. 28 and issued by Assistant Fire Chief Kent Searle, reached the following conclusions:
--There was sufficient evidence to show that Cain had sexual relations, including sexual intercourse, at Station 17 on the Hilltop on many occasions between September 2011 and April 2013. The woman was 18 when the relationship started and had been a friend of Cain's daughter's.
--When the division's investigators interviewed him, Cain was dishonest in his statements.
--Cain violated Fire Division rules when he allowed the woman to ride along with him in vehicles and took her to the bedroom area of the fire station.
--Cain was insubordinate when he continued to bring the woman to the fire-station bedroom after a supervising lieutenant told him it was prohibited.
--Cain gave the young woman, whose statement was supported by a polygraph test, the security codes for the fire station so she could enter it after hours.
--Cain sent a picture of his genitals to the woman's cellphone.
Fire Chief Gregory A. Paxton will now review the findings from the investigation and make a determination of guilt and possible punishment, which could include Cain being fired. Paxton declined to comment yesterday.
If the chief recommends that Cain be fired, Public Safety Director Mitchell J. Brown would have the final say.
The initial investigation stalled because firefighters at the Hilltop station told investigators they had no knowledge of an affair.
But early this summer, the woman, who is now 20, attempted suicide. After she recovered, she supplied the Fire Division with a picture of Cain's penis that he had sent to her phone.
Cain admitted to investigators that he had sent the picture while on duty. He also admitted having oral sex with the woman, but said that happened outside the fire station. Cain denied that he had sexual intercourse with the woman.
Firefighters at the Hilltop station initially told investigators they thought that Cain had a " father-daughter" relationship with the woman. But two firefighters, according to the report, later told investigators that Cain admitted to them, in separate conversations, that he had sex with her at the fire station.
@Woodsnight
Copyright 2013 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
