The former fire chief in a town on upscale Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has been arrested for allegedly filming a sexual encounter with a partner who didn’t know they were on camera.
John Rose, 53, had previously resigned from the Oak Bluffs Fire Department in disgrace after being busted for sexual harassment in 2020.
The firefighter recently got a new job in nearby West Tisbury, but was given an indefinite suspension after a protection from harassment order was filed against him.
Rose is now being held without bail after being charged with “photographing, filming or electronically monitoring partially nude or nude persons,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Police were notified of the allegation on December 14 and launched an investigation involving the involvement of state police.
John Rose, 53, the former fire chief in a town on upscale Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has been arrested for allegedly filming his sexual encounter with a partner who didn’t know they were on camera
Rose, 53, had previously resigned from the Oak Bluffs Fire Department in disgrace after being busted for sexual harassment in 2020
He was arrested this weekend at Boston’s Logan Airport. Authorities did not say whether he tried to flee.
The harassment prevention order against Rose was applied for on December 4 by a male colleague.
Officials have not said whether the prevention order and Rose’s arrest are related.
Rose has a long history of alleged workplace corruption.
While working in Oak Bluffs, he was forced to settle with a former fire director for $97,500 over harassment and discrimination claims.
Cynthia Hatt worked for the department from 2013 to 2019 when she filed a complaint with the state against Rose in April of that year before filing a lawsuit in July.
Hatt admitted that he had a consensual relationship with Rose in 2015 after making sexual advances toward her in the workplace.
After they broke up, Rose began dating a volunteer firefighter, but continued to send Hatt “incessant, harassing text messages and phone calls” to try to get her back.
Rose faced sexual harassment allegations, a lawsuit and a state ethics investigation while leading the Oak Bluffs Fire Department
She rejected those advances and claims he took revenge on her at work.
Hatt alleged that Rose moved her desk to his office, stopped paying benefits, revoked her duties and singled out her new firefighter for punishment, and even stalked her outside the fire station using fire engines.
She said Rose “assigned herself a locker” in the women’s locker room at the fire station and used it to shower and dress twice a day.
The case was ultimately dismissed and the settlement was reached without Rose or the city of Oak Bluffs admitting any wrongdoing. Hatt has denied all claims.
In the settlement, she was awarded $97,500, more than the $25,000 she asked for in lost overtime.
The settlement claims the additional money is for damages that “do not involve any wage-related misconduct on the part of the city.”
A month after he resigned, it was announced that he had received $100,000 in a retirement package that includes a lump sum of $65,000, three months of paid leave and 18 months of city health benefits.
The fire brigade, under Rose’s supervision, even came under an FBI investigation for its billing practices.
While working in Oak Bluffs, Rose was forced to settle with a former firefighter for $97,500 due to harassment and discrimination claims.
Rose was offered a second chance as a firefighter in West Tisbury until the protection from harassment order was filed. He has not contested his suspension.
He was sued in 2022 by a firefighter who tried to blow the whistle on Rose’s alleged harassment. The MV Times reports this.
While he was still in charge in 2014, a state ethics commission investigated Rose for hiring members of his immediate family into the fire department, according to NBC10.
They later agreed with Rose not to initiate formal proceedings.
An attorney for Rose, Mark Miliotis, said the Wijngaardkrant the allegations were new to him and he did not comment.
Rose is currently in a state prison in Bourne. He must appear in court again on Monday.