MANVILLE POLICE CHIEF SUSPENDED AFTER BEING ACCUSED OF RAPE
" An Employee Of The Somerset County Police Department Has Filed A Lawsuit Accusing The Chief Of Rape & Sexual Abuse Over Several Years."
February 23, 2022 6:14 A.M. ET By Joanne Alvarez Reporting For: Englebrook Independent News,
MANVILLE, NJ.- The Police Chief in Manville Borough has been accused of repeatedly Raping one of his employees and also stands accused of Sexual Abuse over a period of years, according to a recent filed lawsuit.
The Manville Borough Council voted last Thursday to place Chief Thomas J. Herbst on Paid Temporary Leave, following the allegations outlined in the lawsuit.
Herbst has been Police Chief since October 2020 and has been with The Police Department since 1991. The employee started working in the Department in 2000, and Herbst became her direct supervisor in 2006 , according to the filing.
The employee, who's name is being withheld do to the nature of the allegations, stated in her lawsuit that Herbst masturbated in front of her in 2008, and that he continued to do so until he eventually Raped her in a room in the Police Department, despite her repeatedly telling him " No" and "Stop." Further, Herbst Raped her multiple times in the Police Department and later at her home and other various locations, she said.
The employee stated she was scared of being fired or that Herbst would claim that the Sexual Encounters were consensual. Herbst would tell her that she was "Disobeying An Order" if she did not comply with his demands, according to the lawsuit.
Further in her filings, the woman accused another Officer of pointing a Shotgun at her inside the Department this month, which led her to file the suit.
The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that they are investigating the allegations.
FILED UNDER FEBRUARY 23, 2022: LOCAL, LAW: