Former Martha's Vineyard fire chief arrested at Logan Airport on sex tape charges
Former Oak Bluffs Fire Chief John Rose, 53, pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of recording a sex tape of a partner without her consent to be filmed.
Rose is charged with photographing, videotaping or electronically surveilling partially nude or nude persons.
Massachusetts State Police detectives began investigating the matter on Dec. 14.
Rose is alleged to have shown the partner a video recorded on his cellphone of her nude and performing a sexual act on him, Assistant District Attorney John Wheatley, the prosecutor, said Monday at the Edgartown District Court arraignment, which a Times reporter viewed live on Zoom.
The partner, who is in her forties, told police she was not aware of and did not consent to the recording and described herself as surprised and alarmed, according to authorities.
Search warrant executed
Attempts to later find Rose after he had been informed of the investigation were unsuccessful, according to the prosecutor. A search warrant for his home was executed on Dec. 22 and investigators found rotting food in the kitchen and drawers were open and empty.
"It appeared to investigators that the individual, Mr. Rose, had left quite hastily," said the prosecutor.
On Jan. 19, troopers learned that Rose would be flying from West Palm Beach in Florida to Boston. The following morning, an arrest warrant was granted and he was eventually placed under arrest at Boston Logan International Airport without incident.
Mark Miliotis, a defense attorney for Rose, said "there had not been any process issued against (his) client" as of last Friday.
"(He) was certainly willing and able to be present. He was returning to the jurisdiction ... he's a lifetime public servant, he owns his own business, owns a home," said Miliotis, adding, "I don't think there's any reason to be concerned about his appearance."
Miliotis also said the complaints in question were "made from 2020 that were first complained about in December."
Rose is next expected in court on March 25 for a pretrial hearing. He posted $10,000 cash bail later and was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device.
What is John Rose's history on Martha's Vineyard?
Rose was the fire chief of Oak Bluffs beginning in 2013 until he resigned in 2020 amid an FBI inquiry into ambulance finances and sexual harassment allegations, according to the Vineyard Gazette.
He was suspended from his job as a firefighter at the West Tisbury Fire Department in mid-December after a court granted a man a harassment prevention order against the former chief, the newspaper also reported.
In 2019: Off-duty firefighters aid state trooper
The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission investigated in 2014 whether the former fire chief had violated conflict of interest law by hiring and supervising his brother, two sisters, and daughter from 2009 to 2013 when he was the ambulance chief.
The commission resolved the matter by issuing a public education letter after agreeing with him to not hold a formal proceeding.
Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: In court: Did former Oak Bluffs fire chief John Rose make a sex tape?
