Statement on conviction of former firefighter for sexual assault

On Tuesday 13 August 2024, a former Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service employee was found guilty at Crewe Magistrates’ Court of the sexual assault of a female over the age of 16. The offence took place outside work on April 29, 2023 and was unrelated to his role. He will be sentenced on 16 September.

 Welcoming the verdict, Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive Alex Waller said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with the victim of this offence and her family.

“We suspended the individual on the day he was arrested by police and he resigned from his role in July 2023. A disciplinary hearing held in his absence in November determined that had he still been an employee, he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct.”

In addition to his on-call role, the individual served as a full-time firefighter until September 2022.