The resignation Monday of the Fire Department captain who pleaded guilty to child rape charges will allow the department to avoid potentially tumultuous termination hearings, Easton Fire Chief Thomas Stone said Tuesday.
"This is some relief. The situation is over, and now we can move forward," said Stone. "For a whole year's time there's been a dark cloud - just not knowing."
John R. Howard, a firefighter for 34 years and Boy Scout leader, pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of rape of a child under 16 and resigned hours later. He is expected to be sentenced March 28. Prosecutors are asking for a prison term of four to eight years, said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol County district attorney's office.
Howard, 53, had been on paid administrative leave since his arrest in November 2006. Personnel and civil service laws allowed him to remain on paid leave while the charges were pending. Once he pleaded guilty, town officials were prepared to begin disciplinary hearings.
Town administrator David Colton said civil service rules and union rules could have made it difficult to fire Howard because the charges are not related to his work for the town. Colton said Howard could have been terminated based on the fact that he is expected to go to jail and would be unavailable for service. Still, the process would have been so tangled legally that it would have continued to plague the town, Colton said.
Stone said his fellow firefighters knew little about the case when Howard was first charged. The case tainted the department because even though the charges were not related to Howard's work as a firefighter, he wore the symbol of the department after his indictment, Stone said.
"Firefighters are all about protecting people, not to bring harm, which is what he did," the chief said.
"Obviously, he had taken advantage of his services here, and it hurt the victim and the victim's family."
The charges stem from incidents from 1995 to 1999. Howard admitted that he molested a boy from when he was 12 years old to 16 years old. The victim, now 25, was a family friend.
The arrest stunned this close-knit community, where residents tend to know one another. Howard and his family were well known in town, and word about the charges spread quickly.
At the time of his arrest, Howard resigned from his position as an associate adviser for the Old Colony Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was affiliated with the program for some 20 years. The victim was not involved with that program.
Colton said Howard's decision to plead guilty was a surprise because it had been expected that he would go to trial.
"Things could have just dragged on for some time," he said.
Because Howard was not terminated, he can apply for retirement benefits from the Bristol County Retirement Board. Colton said the town may not have any grounds to contest the benefits because the conviction was not related to his work.
But he said the town can at least move forward.
"What he did was detestable, and the town doesn't want anything to do with it," Colton said.
