St. John's firefighter facing sexual assault, exploitation charges has case set over until March
The case against a St. John's firefighter facing two charges related to alleged sexual conduct with a teenage girl was briefly raised in provincial court Thursday morning, then quickly set over to March 8.
Ronald Pomeroy, who is a captain with the St. John's regional fire department, did not appear in court. He was represented by his lawyer, Stephen Orr.
Pomeroy, 52, who has more than three decades of service with the department, was charged last month with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.
Judge Harold Porter agreed to a publication ban against any information that may lead to the identification of the complainant, as is standard in cases of sexual assault and cases involving youth.
The offences are alleged to have occurred in St. John's between February and May 2023.
The Crown has elected to proceed by indictment, which is the judicial approach used for more serious offences.
Orr told Porter he had "just been retained" by Pomeroy and that he was awaiting a copy of the Crown's evidence — known as disclosure — in the case.
Porter agreed to set the matter over.
It's not known whether Pomeroy, who received a firefighter of the year award in 2019, is still on duty with the department, but his union leader said he is still an employee and a member of Local 1075 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents 220 firefighters.
Union president Craig Smith said Thursday the union is not involved because it's a personal matter. He said the union has an obligation to represent all members and will get involved if the city makes decisions regarding Pomeroy's employment status.
"We are all feeling the effects of this," said Smith, adding one of his priorities is to ensure any members affected by Pomeroy's case get the help and support they need.
In a statement, the City of St. John's confirmed he is an employee with the fire department but declined further comment "as we do not discuss human resources matters publicly."
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