PA Fire Officer Accused of Groping Junior Firefighter
Police charged a Monroeville Volunteer Fire Department Company #5 firefighter after he allegedly groped a junior firefighter at a fire training facility.
Gregory Lauffer, 23, told the 14-year-old female he was either 17 or 18 when they were at the Monroeville Fire Training Center.
According to an affidavit, he questioned the victim about her sexual history, the Post-Gazette reported. He attempted to kiss her and grabbed her over her clothes.
Later, at a firematic event at the Monroeville Convention Center, the junior firefighter received Snapchat messages from Lauffer asking her to meet him in the bathroom.
The victim told officials she was not aware how Lauffer knew her Snapchat account.
Charges against Lauffer include indecent assault and unlawful contact with and corruption of a minor.
He was suspended from responding to calls or accessing the fire company’s property, Fire Chief Benjamin Rudd said in a statement.
Lauffer is listed a lieutenant on the department's website and works as a Monroeville dispatcher and emergency service worker in Edgewood Borough.