Jesse Hodgson (credit: CBS)
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - A firefighter with the Mountain View Fire Protection District is on administrative leave after being charged with sexual assault. The arrest affidavit alleges he has a sexual fetish that developed over a year and led to the demise of his marriage.
Mountain View serves people in Boulder and Weld counties, including rural Longmont and Dacono.
For 10 years firefighter Jesse Hodgson has been with the department and just a few years ago he was promoted to an engineer position behind the wheel of a fire truck. He also serves as the department’s public information officer. He’s now on administrative leave facing serious charges.
Mountain View Deputy Chief Steven Pischke says when Hodgson was arrested he was immediately placed on paid leave. On Monday he was no longer able to collect a check at the advice of the fire department’s attorney — until the criminal case is resolved and the department completes an internal investigation.
The allegations are a first-of-its-kind for Mountain View.
“We were shocked, pure and simple. It’s something no one likes to hear and when it’s one of your own it makes it even more difficult,” Pischke said.
Hodgson was arrested in December, but this week the Weld County District Attorney’s Office charged him with felony sexual assault on a helpless victim, sexual assault while overcoming a victim’s will, three counts of sexual contact without the victim’s consent, and four counts of indecent exposure.
“He’s going through a tough time,” Hodgson’s attorney Todd Burnham said.
Burnham says he can’t say much about the firefighter’s case, but that the facts will come out.
“Jesse is very comfortable with the truth and we are confident that justice will prevail. Where we go from here is do our fact finding, diligence and eventually the truth will come out,” Burnham said.
According to the arrest affidavit, Hodgson’s wife told police he had “diaper fetish” and would “wear them regularly.”
Hodgson is accused of exposing the fetish to a young girl and asking her to participate. He’s accused of putting diapers on the girl as a form of punishment.
In another incident, a relative of Hodgson’s told police he raped her in her kitchen after a party on Memorial Day. She told police she had too much to drink and he took advantage of her.
A third victim, who says she is friends with Hodgson’s wife, said he exposed himself to her and touched her inappropriately.
The department says so far their internal investigation shows the allegations are not related to department business, but on the firefighter’s private time.
Hodgson is due back in court Feb. 17.
