By Brian Lee
Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)
Copyright 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
CHARLTON, Mass. — Jeffrey Belmore, a firefighter-EMT, resigned from his job Sunday, two days after a jury in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge found him guilty of one count of rape and abuse of a child under 16.
The charge stems from an Ashland assault more than four years ago in the Ashland Fire Department.
The jury continues to deliberate on three additional counts of rape and abuse of a child under 16, said Melissa T. Sherman, deputy press secretary for the Middlesex district attorney’s office.
The jury deliberated for three days before issuing Friday’s partial verdict.
The alleged child rapes began in November 2000 and continued into summer 2001, while Mr. Belmore, now 30 and living in Southbridge, worked as a dispatcher for the Ashland Fire Department.
The accuser was 14 years old when the attacks started, Ms. Sherman said.
The victim testified that they had sex on the second floor of the Ashland Fire Department’s day room, and Mr. Belmore ejaculated on the rug in the room. Mr. Belmore’s semen was found on the rug.
During the trial Mr. Belmore contended he had sex with his then-fiancee in the day room.
Mr. Belmore was indicted on four counts of rape of a minor on March 5, 2002, and was arraigned March 14, 2002. He was released on personal recognizance with the conditions of no contact with the victim or the victim’s family, Ms. Sherman said.
The first trail began on May 4, and a mistrial was declared May 12, Ms. Sherman said.
Mr. Belmore, who was friends with the accuser’s father, had given the girl guitar lessons, court records said. The girl kept her relationship with Mr. Belmore a secret until telling a counselor at her Christian camp in 2001.
The girl later obtained a restraining order against Mr. Belmore, and the Ashland Fire Department asked him to resign. Mr. Belmore refused and he was placed on unpaid administrative leave.
The Charlton Fire Department hired Mr. Belmore during summer 2003, and he had been forthright about the pending charges during his candidacy, Chief Ralph W. Harris said in an interview yesterday.
“He was a good worker,” Chief Harris said. “He’s got a couple of citations. We had no problems with him; very good worker.”
Asked if Mr. Belmore’s tenure brought uneasiness to the department, Chief Harris said, “We pretty much went along the feeling ... he was innocent until proven guilty. Now he’s been proven guilty. That’s the end of the story.”
Mr. Belmore resigned via e-mail, the chief said.
“He didn’t go into detail,” he said. “Everybody knows why. I don’t think he had to explain it again.”