Pennsylvania Firefighter Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting Junior Firefighter

Posted by: Curt Varone February 17, 2021 0

A volunteer firefighter from New Cumberland, Pennsylvania has been sentenced to three to ten years in prison for sexually assaulting a junior firefighter in 2019. James W. Ainsworth III, 26, pled guilty in Cumberland County Court to a single charge of aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age.

Ainsworth faced charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, criminal attempt – involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault by a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit, and corruption of minors. According to Fox43, Ainesworth promised to buy the youth a cellphone if they became intimate, and later performed a sexual act upon the junior firefighter. They were both members of the New Cumberland Fire Department.

The junior firefighter complained to a deputy chief that Ainesworth kept texting him, and it made him uncomfortable. The youth eventually went to the police and reported the assault. According to the police, Ainesworth admitted to performing the sexual act on the junior firefighter.

More on the story.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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