By FireRescue1 Staff
BOSTON — A Boston Fire Department District Chief seeks to maintain his position after being charged with assault and lewd conduct.
Chief Paul Hutchinson has been on unpaid leave for the last eight months after pleading guilty in June to assaulting a woman.
According to police reports obtained by WCVB, the chief invited the woman in July of 2015 to coffee and began touching her in his car before she told him to “get your hands off of me.” Hutchinson stopped, but not before exposing himself in front of the woman.
The 29-year veteran admitted to the lewd conduct as part of a deal with the court, and as a result, the charge was continued without a finding — meaning no conviction will show on his record if he completes one year of probation, reported WCVB.
The department will hold a hearing next week, which will determine whether Hutchinson will be reinstated, suspended or terminated.
Hutchinson and the firefighter’s union both declined to comment on the case.