Boston Deputy Fire Chief Charged with Rape

The Boston Fire Department has confirmed that a deputy chief has been arrested on charges he impersonated a state trooper and then raped a woman at gunpoint at a Brockton park in June. "I can confirm he is a deputy chief of the fire department," said department spokesman Steve MacDonald of Division 2 Deputy Chief Peter Pearson, 51, of East Bridgewater.

Pearson, of 142 Village Rd., is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow on charges of aggravated rape, assault with a dangerous weapon, impersonating a police officer and kidnapping, according to Brockton police Lt. John Crowley.

Police have also acknowledged the victim has been arrested before on a prostitution charge.

A woman told police in July that a man picked her up the previous month, took her to a field and forced her to "perform a sex act," police said. The man was allegedly armed and claimed to be a state trooper.

"We only became aware of this a half-hour ago," MacDonald said, adding that the department learned of the incident initially through the media.

Pearson earned $158,900 last year as deputy chief, according to Boston payroll records obtained by the Herald.

Republished with permission from The Boston Herald