NJ volunteer firefighter says academy instructor tortured and raped her
Federal lawsuit filed against Ocean County instructor
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A New Jersey volunteer firefighter claims in a federal lawsuit that her instructor at the Ocean County Fire Academy brought her to his home last year where he bound tortured and raped her.
The woman, identified in court papers by her initials, told investigators that her instructor, John Syers, lured her to his Lacey Township home on Sept. 26, 2018 under the guise of showing off his new house. Syers is listed as an instructor at the academy, according to the county government website. He is also a firefighter in Elizabeth, officials said.
“While Syers was showing (her) his bedroom, he proceeded to restrain, beat, burn, sexually assault and strangle (her) over the course of 46 minutes, despite her continuous pleas for him to stop,” the woman’s attorney, Robert R. Fuggi Jr. said in a statement.
Disorderly persons charges of simple assault and lewdness filed against Syers are pending in municipal court. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has also acknowledged an ongoing investigating and the case could be transferred to Superior Court.
