A former fire chief on Martha's Vineyard has been arrested after allegedly recording a sex tape without consent.
The office of Cape and Islands District Attorney's Galibois said Saturday that 53-year-old John Rose is facing charges of photographing, videotaping or electronically surveilling partially nude or nude persons.
Prosecutors said Massachusetts State Police began investigating last month after learning Rose allegedly had a video showing a person performing sex acts on him, which was recorded without that person's consent.
Rose was the fire chief in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, before resigning in 2020 amid an FBI inquiry into sexual harassment allegations and ambulance finances, according to the Vineyard Gazette.
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The newspaper also reported that Rose was suspended last month from the West Tisbury Fire Department, where he was working as a firefighter, after a harassment prevention order was granted against him.
In 2014, the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission investigated allegations that Rose violated conflict of interest law by hiring and supervising four members of his immediate family, beginning in 2009, when he was the department's ambulance squad chief.
The commission released a "public education letter" in 2015 discussing the investigation's findings after agreeing with Rose not to pursue a formal proceeding.
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Galibois' office said Rose is being held without bail before his arraignment, scheduled for Monday at Edgartown District Court.
