Outrageous: PA asst. chief accused of sex with jr. firefighter applicant still responds & does TV interview
This is just ridiculous. Kenny Steiner, the assistant chief of the New Florence Volunteer Fire Company in New Florence, Pennsylvania is awaiting trial after being charged in October with having sex with a girl who applied to be a junior firefighter. The department told the public that Chief Steiner would be suspended pending an internal investigation and outcome of the trial. WTAE-TV’s Ashlie Hardway says that turned out not to be true.
Hardway reports that a preliminary hearing is set for December 18, but that Steiner is responding to calls. He even gave an interview to the news media Saturday after a Saint Clair Township police officer was killed over the weekend.
Really? The man accused of having sex with a minor who applied to be a firefighter represents the department on TV? That’s one of the stupidest things I’ve seen from a public safety agency in quite a while.
You will see in the video above that Ashlie Hardway tried to question Chief Keith Boring about this issue but he sped off. It’s probably important to note that the chief is also waiting for his preliminary hearing on charges that he threaten to kill a neighboring chief.
Obviously, both men are innocent until proven guilty. They are due their day in court. But it’s shameful that, with the chief and assistant chief facing serious charges, they are allowed to hold such important positions of trust. Most departments would have kept them out of contact with the public until this is resolved. Read the stupid excuses given below by one department official.
An official with New Florence VFD, Phillip Ferris, said internal investigations were completed into both Boring and Kenny Steiner’s cases. Ferris said a panel determined Boring’s case did not involve the fire department, despite the police criminal complaint stating Boring calling the Seward chief knowing Seward was on-scene of a search and rescue call.
Ferris said a panel, including Boring, determined that Kenny Steiner could return to duty prior to the disposition of criminal charges but only in an administrative role. Ferris said Kenny Steiner could fill up the fire trucks and write reports. When asked why Kenny Steiner was allowed to respond to the shooting, Ferris said he didn’t have an answer.
