NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami-Dade firefighter is locked up and off-duty amid accusations that he crossed the line with two of his co-workers.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Firefighter Jose Lopez is catching serious legal heat for what he’s accused of doing.
It was at an MDFR station in North Miami where it was reported to police that the 49-year-old tried to rape two fellow firefighters.
According to a Miami-Dade Police arrest affidavit, “The victim disclosed that the defendant attempted to ‘rape’ her on three separate occasions while she slept in her dorm.”
The arrest form states the alleged crimes go back 11 years.
A spokesperson for MDPD told 7News that at least one of the victims was afraid to initially report the crimes due to how she might be treated within the firehouse.
The arrest form states, “The victim advised that the defendant attacked her at the same location on two additional occasions in the same manner described above. The victim confronted the defendant about the attacks when the defendant replied to her, ‘I thought you were one of the cool girls.'”
There was no one home at the listed Coral Springs address for Lopez on Friday night.
In a statement issued Friday, an MDFR spokesperson wrote, “The employee has been suspended immediately without pay pending charges.”
MDPD Director Alfredo Ramirez also issued a statement. It reads in part, “It infuriates me to learn that one of my firefighters was arrested for attempting to sexually assault his co-workers.”
Ramirez goes one to say, “We remain committed in conducting a thorough investigation.”
Lopez has been charged with four counts of attempted sexual battery. He bonded out of jail Saturday afternoon.
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