State College fire dept. removes longtime firefighter at center of police investigation
A longtime Alpha Fire Company firefighter was removed from the department Monday, about two weeks after he was filmed saying he received “a few” images of child pornography through an anonymous chat app.
The fire department that covers much of Happy Valley wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday that the past week and a half was a “very difficult time for our fire department.” The department did not identify the firefighter.
”Our fire department, which has served the community for over 123 years, is bigger than any one person and our core values remain unshaken. We will never be defined by the abhorrent actions of an individual member,” the department wrote. “We thank everyone who trusted us to do the right things in handling this matter and we will begin to shift our focus and full attention to our mission of providing excellent protection and service to the communities we serve.”
A search warrant identified the firefighter as a 46-year-old Lemont man. The Centre Daily Times is not identifying him by name because he has not been charged; a Patton Township police investigation is ongoing.
It is not known if he has an attorney.
The man, police wrote, swapped messages through the social media app Whisper with someone who posed as a 15-year-old girl. He sent lewd photographs and discussed having oral and vaginal sex, police wrote.
He was confronted earlier this month — and was filmed for nearly 30 minutes — at a retailer along North Atherton Street by the male behind the phony account.
“It’s wrong. It’s completely wrong. I knew it was wrong the whole ... time,” the man said during an interaction that’s been viewed more than 23,000 times on YouTube as of Tuesday. “Morals, all that stuff. I know better.”
He estimated messaging about a dozen children on the app. A handful of police officers searched his home earlier this month, seizing at least four iPhones and two computers.
“I’m just seeing everything I’ve worked for — everything I’ve done — just disappearing,” he said.
He later added: “I don’t have any excuse. I f----- up.”