Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A captain with the Bloomington Fire Department who is facing felony charges related to a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl has tendered his resignation. Captain Robert Sears was charged with child solicitation and sexual misconduct with a minor.
Sears was snared in a police sting operation after he messaged the girl on a social media app, Whisper. Here is more about the details of how he was caught.
Sears, a 20-year veteran, admitted to having relations with the 14-year old. He was facing termination proceedings when he opted to resign.
WBIW quoted a statement from Fire Chief Jason Moore relative to the resignation as saying: “The actions of Robert Sears have shaken the Department and the community we serve. With his resignation, we will be able to quickly fill the vacancy his departure creates, allowing us to continue providing the excellent public safety services our community expects.”
HTOnow quoted the chief as saying:
“As far as we are concerned, this is the fastest way to terminate his employment, since it is difficult to fire someone when they have charges like this pending.”
“We don’t need members with that kind of behavior working for the city or the fire department.”
