By Kevin Shea
nj.com
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A Hamilton firefighter endured ongoing sexual harassment and inappropriate touching by a senior firefighter as town officials repeatedly bungled their response to the allegations, a lawsuit alleges.
The rookie firefighter alleges firefighter Henry Roldan started harassing her with verbal sexual comments and texts within two weeks of her hiring in April 2023. The sexual harassment continued for months and progressed to several instances of sexual contact, including an incident in which Rolan “slapped her rear end” when she climbed aboard a fire truck, the suit alleges.
The township allowed Roldan to resign in late 2023 without consequence after inadequately dealing with the reported conduct, the suit says.
Roldan did not immediately respond to requests to comment via his social media account.
The lawsuit also alleges the township did not make any changes based on the female firefighter’s allegations and the fire department still lacks door locks in bathrooms and changing areas in firehouses used by women.
Hamilton has also lacked human resources training for firefighters since the fire department became a municipal division in 2021, the lawsuit says.
The female firefighter continues to suffer retaliation from some colleagues who are upset that Roldan is no longer in the department, her suit says.
Roldan currently work for Ewing EMS, a township spokesperson said Monday.
“We deny the allegations against Hamilton Township, but can not comment further on active litigation,” Hamilton spokesperson Bianca Jerez said.
The female firefighter’s lawyer, Ayesha K. Hamilton, declined to comment on the suit, which she filed in Mercer County Superior Court on Jan. 29.
The 33-page filing says the female firefighter was the target of “severe, disgusting and ongoing sexual harassment” by Roldan, a senior firefighter on her shift. He allegedly told her she was a “probie,” a term for a rookie firefighter, who would be fired if she complained.
The female firefighter started with the department about two years ago, but Roldan was not on her first shifts at Station 15, formerly known as DeCou Fire Co. They met a week later and four days later after that he started to make comments about her “body, her rear end, and her clothing,” the suit says.
Over the next few months, Roldan unleashed a number of sexually inappropriate comments, walked in on her in the shower, listened to her urinate in the bathroom and once texted her that he’d sucked her toes while she slept, the suit says.
When the female firefighter texted Roldan about a regular matter, he responded, “You gotta send sexies first,” and then repeatedly asked her via text to send nude or “spicy” photos, the lawsuit says.
Roldan touched her butt several times and would often come up behind her, lock his arms around her and kiss her on the cheek, the lawsuit says.
“Roldan would claim that this is normal behavior for a career fire dept. and that she needed to go along with it as they were one big family,” the suit alleges.
The female firefighter resisted Roldan’s advances and comments, and would yell at him when he touched her, the lawsuit says. She was allegedly afraid of being let go if she reported him to superiors.
When the female firefighter told an angry Roldan to stop touching her, he allegedly said: “Why are you acting like this? Are you on your period?”
She eventually went to her captain in October 2023 and reported Roldan’s behavior. About a week later, the captain allegedly told her he’d spoken to Roldan and he would “knock it off.”
Another time, the captain brought the female firefighter and Roldan together to “air it out,” the suit says.
That allegedly did not work. After another meeting with superiors, Roldan followed after the female firefighter, said that he was “just joking” and begged her not to make a complaint.
Other firefighters knew what was going on and their captain made an announcement to the firehouse about how there had been a conflict that was resolved, the lawsuit said. The captain allegedly said the firehouse was “just going to keep this between us.”
A battalion chief who learned of the issue called the female firefighter on October 19, 2023 , and she reported what she’d been experiencing. He reported it to the township the same day.
The next day, township officials reached out to to her and worked on the matter for several weeks.
She allegedly later learned that a township attorney had been working on a deal in which Roldan would be suspended without pay for eight months and be transferred to another station and shift. The female firefighter wanted the township to implement other conditions to make sure she would never have to work with Roldan and he would not be able to target other women in the future, her suit says.
Roldan eventually resigned, “with a clean record,” and was hired in Ewing , according to the lawsuit.
Ewing hired Roldan on Feb. 10 as a full-time EMT with a salary of $60,030 and he passed all background checks prior to hire, the township said.
“Ewing was unaware of the claims against him until ( NJ Advance Media ) reached out, and has not seen a copy of the complaint,” Ewing spokesperson Julie Willmott said.
Officials with the Hamilton firefighters union, which represented Roldan and the female firefighter in 2023, said they are aware of the lawsuit and declined to comment on specifics. “We trust that the legal process will address the claims in a fair and thorough manner,” union President Mike Lombardi said.
“The union remains committed to advocating for the rights and well-being of all its members. We encourage an environment where all firefighters feel safe, respected, and supported in their roles. We will continue to work with all parties to ensure that our members have the necessary resources and protections to perform their duties effectively,” he said.
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