New York volunteer firefighter accuses department heads and staff of ‘brutally raping’ her

A New York City volunteer firefighter has claimed she was “spiked with alcohol” by the former department head and served as a “birthday present” by a senior official – before they both “violently raped” her at a fire station.

The fire medic, who trained as a firefighter and paramedic and chose to remain nameless, is suing former Wantagh Fire Department (WFD) chief Kenneth Kelly Jr., 51, and her Engine 7 captain Josef Seier, 28, and accused the couple physically and sexually assaulted her last year.

An ominous text message from Kelly, filed Thursday as part of the lawsuit in Nassau County Superior Court, said, “Had fun last night. But remember that between you there’s only me and Joe forever.’

The woman claims she reported the incident at the time and is now seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages from Kelly, Seier and WFD, their attorney Vesselin Mitev, who described the alleged attack as “grotesque,” according to the Daily Beast.

A New York volunteer firefighter has claimed she was served as a “birthday present” to senior officer, Motor 7 Capt. Josef Seier (left) by former Wantagh fire chief Kenneth Kelly Jr. (right). 51, – before they both ‘violently raped’ her

An ominous text message from Kelly, filed Thursday as part of the lawsuit in Nassau County Superior Court, said, “Had fun last night. But remember, this is between you, me and Joe, just forever.

“She had these extraordinary feelings of humiliation, shame, she can’t sleep,” Mitev said.

“She was brutally attacked by two people she considered friends, and not just colleagues, but also her bosses. This has caused her to reconsider whether she can ever go back to doing what she enjoys most, which is helping others.”

The woman, who is in her 20s and has a day job as a physician’s assistant on Long Island, according to Mitev, “very much loved being a firefighter and loved being a part of what she thought was a unit.”

However, it is claimed that Kelly and Seier “literally viewed her as a disposable sex vessel,” Mitev said.

Mitev added that his client has not been able to return to her volunteer position since the 2022 incident.

DailyMail.com has reached out to officials with WFD, but they didn’t immediately respond on Friday. No criminal charges have been filed against either man at this time.

The allegations against Kelly and Seier date from the evening of Jan. 14, 2022, when the woman said she was at WFD Station #4 around 9:30 p.m. for a gathering to celebrate Seier’s birthday, the lawsuit states.

When she got there, the woman claimed she was “immediately seated and continuously overserved with several alcoholic beverages” by Kelly and Seier.

The allegations against Kelly and Seier date from the evening of January 14, 2022, when she alleges that Kelly (pictured here when he was sworn in as boss in 2020) raped her along with colleague Seier

The lawsuit goes on to say that they both “encouraged” them to drink various liquors, including Malibu rum and a liquor called “Black Death.”

The court filing went on to say that Fire District officials had previously been warned that male firefighters in Wantagh preying on drunken female members was “a recurring problem”.

Kelly and Seier, who were the woman’s direct supervisors, allegedly had a premeditated plan to get her drunk and sexually abuse her, according to the lawsuit.

Throughout the evening, while the woman sat at a bar in the fire department’s operations room, Seier reportedly kept his hand on her thigh and constantly leaned against her, the lawsuit says.

During the night, Kelly reportedly began making salacious comments towards the woman, and around 2 a.m. the woman claims to hear Kelly tell Seier “that they would wet her like a sponge.”

Kelly reportedly followed the comments by “ending the party and telling everyone to go.”

At that point, according to the lawsuit, “she began to realize that the defendants’ intent was to sexually assault her in her intoxicated state, since she would be unable to consent to or repel her sexual advances.”

When the fire station was cleared, the woman claims she was alone in the in-house bar with Kelly and Seier.

Kelly, who is accused of “grotesque assault,” is seen here (circled in red) with colleagues in 2021

At this point, Seier “began to force himself on the woman,” “kissing her against her will.”

“Come on,” Seier kept repeating, trapping the woman between herself and Kelly as she tried to leave, the lawsuit alleges. According to social media, both men have partners.

As she struggled to escape, the men reportedly informed her that there were no surveillance cameras in that part of the fire station.

“You want to see that big bugger?” Seier is said to have asked the woman.

“We know you like it,” the suit said, Kelly said, “and then reminded you [her] that it was Seier’s birthday and that she should be his “gift” all the time [woman] was sandwiched between the two [Kelly and Seier] who were visibly sexually aroused.’

The suit alleges that the woman began to slip in and out of consciousness, and after eventually passing out, she came to in the fire department bathroom.

With the door locked, Kelly and Seier stripped the woman of her clothes before Kelly bent her over the sink and raped her, “unprotected and without her consent,” the suit claims.

“At the same time, the accused Seier forced the [woman] Performing fellatio on him,” it continues, claiming that Seier digitally penetrated the woman against her will.

The suit goes on to say that Kelly eventually left and Seier continued the attack, choking the woman in the fire officer’s room, where she claims he also raped her.

When the woman got home around 4am, she said she received a text message from Kelly, who allegedly pressured her to keep the attack secret. The lawsuit says it was a “clear admission” of what happened.

Since then, she has continued to suffer physical pain as well as “severe psychological damage and depression,” the lawsuit states.

“It’s grotesque, it’s barbaric, it’s callous, it’s just ruthless,” Mitev told The Daily Beast.

Kelly is seen here with colleagues from Engine 7 – who presented him with a ring in December 2021

“Then they tried to whitewash the whole thing by saying she didn’t report it straight away, that’s what they tried to dance after and there was no attempt to clear this up.

“We had to let the WFD know [the] Claim under the law for that municipality. You knew about it.”

Mitev said the woman was on an indefinite leave of absence due to “inaction on the part of the WFD.”

In March last year, he said he received a letter from the fire department attorney who claimed the department had cut ties with Kelly and Seier.

The woman told Mitev that the couple “were right back [Fire Department] property weeks later, hanging around and fooling around like nothing happened.’

“She knew it wasn’t safe anymore,” Mitev said.

Kelly’s name was removed from a department listing on the WFD website, but Seier remains listed as Engine 7’s captain. However, several photos on social media and in the site’s archive remain intact.

Seier’s father, John Seier, Jr., was also a member of the fire department. He died on March 6, 2021, almost a year before the alleged attack.

Firenews.com said that since joining the department in December 2004, John has been a proud and enthusiastic member.

He was originally assigned to Engine 7, of which his son was the captain and later transferred to the fire service in 2008.

Last year, a Utah deputy fire chief was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to raping a female firefighter under his command.

Also last year, as reported by the Daily Beast, a West Virginia firefighter was investigated by the FBI on charges of raping an underage girl at his fire station and was ultimately sentenced to 14 years in prison.

In 2018, an Illinois firefighter was convicted of drugging and raping a probationer and videotaped the brutal attack.

A few years earlier, more than a dozen FDNY firefighters and officers were accused of gang raping a civilian at a Bronx fire station.

The woman said she was keeping “all options open” to consider criminal charges, while her attorney, Mitev, said she filed the civil suit “to defend not only her rights but those of others who, unfortunately, have suffered similar fates at the hands.” having from sexual oppressors.’

“She really is someone who embodies the spirit of helping others,” Mitev said.

“It’s just grotesquely unfortunate that this happened to her.”