FORT MYERS, FL – A former police officer and assistant fire chief accused of sexually abusing young volunteer firefighters in New Jersey was captured in Lee County after weeks on the run.
Robert M. Sinnott Jr., 52, was booked into the Lee County Jail on Thursday morning after deputies tracked him to an address in Cape Coral under a criminal warrant out of New Jersey. h
The fugitive was wanted in New Jersey on multiple criminal charges, including official misconduct and three counts of criminal sexual contact involving junior members of the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company in Toms River.
Authorities say Sinnott had an active warrant when officers from the Cape Coral Police Department apprehended him at 950 Hancock Creek Boulevard.
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound retired New Jersey cop and firefighter was taken into custody without incident and remains held at the county jail’s F Block unit pending extradition back to New Jersey.
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Lawsuit alleges decades of abuse in Silverton fire company
The arrest also follows a disturbing civil lawsuit filed in Ocean County Superior Court on March 17, accusing Sinnott of using his authority to handcuff and sexually assault teenage volunteers under the guise of training.
The 95-page complaint, filed by three men identified only as John Does 1, 2, and 3, accuses Sinnott of grooming and intimidation that spanned decades, with misconduct allegedly occurring “in full view of other members.”
The suit names the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and several township officials as defendants, alleging systemic negligence that allowed the abuse to continue unchecked.
It also revives tensions surrounding past controversies at the department, including the 2016 case of George Peters v. Silverton Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, in which a whistleblower claimed retaliation after exposing internal corruption.
That earlier case, dismissed on summary judgment, raised questions about leadership accountability that have resurfaced with the latest allegations.
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Kevin Geoghegan, a retired Toms River police sergeant and former township councilman, who is now battling Toms River over a $750,000 theft of services civil lawsuit is not named in the current lawsuit but remains linked to the organization’s troubled history through the 2016 suit filed by Peters.
While Peters was vice president of the Fire Company in 2011, he allegedly had a dispute with Kevin Geoghegan regarding a sign-in sheet for a fire response. Plaintiff alleges that Geoghegan and his brother had been signed in, even though they were not present.
In June 2011, plaintiff contacted the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and informed that office of his concerns regarding the alleged manipulation of LOSAP credits by the Fire Company. Plaintiff contends that he told senior members of the Fire Company that he intended to meet with the prosecutor concerning the manipulation of LOSAP credits. Specifically, plaintiff stated that he told the members of the executive committee that he was going to the prosecutor. Those members included defendants John Addalia and Gus Baxes as well as B.S. and M.C.1
On July 14, 2011, there was a meeting of the members of the Fire Company.2 Plaintiff was not present for that meeting, and he was not given any notice about the meeting. At the meeting, several members raised concerns that plaintiff was examining members’ files and it was not clear what he was doing with the information he was collecting. Defendant Kenneth Taylor then made a motion to impeach plaintiff from his office as vice president. That motion was withdrawn, and Taylor made a new motion to expel plaintiff from the Fire Company. In a secret ballot, thirty-one members voted to expel plaintiff and two members voted to keep plaintiff in the Company. Defendant John Addalia, who was President of the Fire Company, abstained from the vote, and Chief B.S. voted in favor of retaining plaintiff.
Peters vs. Silverton FD
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Geoghegan, who once served as Silverton’s president and assistant chief, was a central figure in the Peters case and now faces separate allegations of financial misconduct involving the Silverton Volunteer First Aid Squad.
A 2024 township lawsuit accuses the squad, managed by Geoghegan, of misusing 24,000 gallons of municipal fuel and withholding nearly $750,000 in insurance reimbursements from the township under a shared services agreement.
Township officials claim Geoghegan fueled personal vehicles with township gas and obstructed financial audits, prompting a referral to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
The fallout led to Silverton EMS losing its dispatch privileges in July 2024, resulting in the layoffs of roughly 30 emergency medical technicians.
Ongoing fallout in Toms River
The convergence of the Sinnott and Geoghegan cases has shaken confidence in Silverton’s emergency services and prompted calls for reform within Toms River’s volunteer organizations.
According to the complaint, one of Sinnott’s accusers reported the abuse to fire district officials in 2023 but was met with harassment and silence.
The plaintiffs are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages for the alleged abuse, while Toms River Township pursues restitution from Silverton EMS.
As legal battles unfold across Ocean County, both Sinnott and the institutions once under his command face a reckoning over decades of alleged misconduct and mismanagement.
Sinnott remains in Lee County custody awaiting extradition to New Jersey to face the charges.
The arrest of Robert Sinnott marks a dramatic turn in a widening investigation into abuse and corruption within Silverton’s volunteer fire and first aid services.
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