Former New Hampshire Fire Captain Gets 4 To 8 Years On Rape Charges: Follow-Up

CONCORD, NH — A former volunteer firefighter pleaded guilty to raping two women in 2019 and 2020 in Bradford and Pembroke.

Russell “Rob” Steiz, 53, of East Main Street in Bradford, was sent to prison for at least four years on March 8 after pleading guilty to two aggravated felonious sexual assault charges. He was originally accused of six counts. Steiz could serve a maximum of eight years.

Steiz, a fire captain, was originally arrested in February 2021, after a victim came forward and spoke with New Hampshire State Police about being raped after meeting him online. He raped the woman, 49, at his home in Bradford in May 2020, tying her up in a camper on his property.

After the publication of the first rape arrest, another victim, a 59-year-old woman, came forward to tell investigators she was raped by Steiz in Pembroke sometime between June and October 2019 after meeting him on Tinder. She met Steiz at Starbucks in Concord, and later, he drove her to a storage facility in Pembroke and raped her inside an office, keeping a used condom as a memento.

Steiz was indicted on the charges. But the Bradford rape case went before a jury and ended in a mistrial on July 25, 2022. The judgment was unanimous, according to jury paperwork.

The county attorney’s office planned on retrying the Bradford case in late June when Steiz decided to take a plea deal.

Part of his sentence will be suspended for 10 years. When he gets out of jail, which could be as soon as 2025, due to his being in confinement for the past 718 days, Steiz will be required to register as a sex offender. He was also required to stay away from the victims.

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