Former FF Charged with Abuse of OR Junior Firefighter
Source Firehouse.com News
A former Monroe firefighter faces charges of sexual abuse involving a junior firefighter.
The Gazette Times reports that Benton County sheriff deputies arrested Jose Carlos Villa-Garcia, 30, Monday.
Villa-Garcia faces one count of second-degree sexual abuse and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse for the alleged actions that occurred in 2016 with a 15-year-old junior firefighter.
His attorney entered not guilty pleas to the charges and Judge Locke Williams released him after imposing several conditions, including no contact with the teenager or other underage teens.
Villa-Garcia was initially arrested in 2016, but the charges were dropped.
A grand jury indicted Villa-Garcia in May, but law enforcement officials has been unable to locate him until Monday's arrest.
A lawsuit was filed against the Monroe Rural Fire Protection District last week, citing that the district neglected to train and supervise the person in charge of the junior firefighter program.
