NJ Police Chief Accused Of Rape, Sex Assault Of Employee Over 13 Years: Lawsuit

MANVILLE, NJ — Manville Police Chief Thomas J. Herbst was placed on paid administrative leave after a longtime employee sued him, accusing him of rape and sexual abuse over 13 years.

An executive assistant to Herbst filed the lawsuit in Somerset County Superior Court on Feb. 15. The suit accused Herbst of 10 instances of rape, masturbation in front of her and "unwelcome and repellant sexual touching" over 13 years. (Patch is not identifying the woman due to the nature of the alleged crimes)

Herbst was placed on paid administrative leave on Thursday night, and the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Internal Affairs Division is investigating, said Franklin Whittlesey, Manville's labor counsel.

The female employee asked for a jury to hear the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, including but not limited to economic losses, back pay, front pay, pain and suffering, severe emotional distress and psychological injury.

She is on administrative leave from the department in "a decision that was made with input from her and attorneys to give the investigation time to play out," said Franklin Whittlesey, Manville's labor counsel, according to NJ.com.

The borough of Manville has 35 days to respond to the civil suit.

Patch reached out to Herbst for comment and did not receive a reply.

The department will release a statement Wednesday, said Frank Roman, a spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office.

Manville police Lt. Craig Jeremiah is currently in charge of the Manville Police Department.

The employee was a record clerk who began working at the police department in May 2000. She became executive assistant to the chief in January 2018.

She said she is coming forward because she "is no longer financially responsible for caring for her daughters, and is not as afraid of losing her job at the Department as she once was."

From 2008 through 2021, "Herbst engaged in a prolonged pattern and practice of abhorrent sexual harassment and repeated sexual assault against Plaintiff while acting as her direct supervisor in the Police Department," the lawsuit alleged.

The suit claimed that other women also have stories of inappropriate sexual conduct involving Herbst.

Whittlesey said the Borough Council was "surprised" by the lawsuit as there were no reports prior to the civil suit being filed.

"No one, not the mayor or any council member, had any possible idea this was occurring," Whittlesey said.

A single mother, the employee said she didn't speak out against the abuse until now because she was worried about losing her job.

"Plaintiff feared that, if she refused to comply with Herbst’s implicit sexual demands, he would retaliate against her and find some way to terminate her, or at the very least he would make things very difficult for her at work," the lawsuit said.

The alleged abuse began in 2008 when she said she was called into Herbst's office, he stood in front of her, took his penis out of his pants "so that it was in Plaintiff’s personal space" and began to masturbate in front of her while standing close to her, according to the suit.

The suit said Herbst ejaculated into his hand and apologized to her for "making a mess on her."

Similar behavior occurred about once per week for the next six years, from 2009 until 2015, according to the lawsuit.

During many of the encounters, after Herbst finished pleasuring himself in front of her and onto her, he said such things as, "I don’t know why I do this," "This is so wrong," and "I shouldn’t be doing this to you," according to the lawsuit.

The alleged abuse intensified when Herbst cornered the employee in the archive room, where he raped her on multiple occasions, despite her repeatedly saying "NO!" and "STOP!" in an assertive voice, according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleged that rape happened three times at her home, three times in a hotel parking lot and one time in a hotel room.

"Herbst said that she was disobeying an order and forced Plaintiff to go into the room," according to the lawsuit.

In 2018, when she was transferred to a new position, she said the abuse stopped until January 2021, when Herbst slid his hand down her shirt and under her bra and fondled her breasts, the suit said.

"NO, this is not going to start again, you’re married ... ," she said, according to the lawsuit.

After Herbst stopped, she said Herbst and Lt. Paul Meixner discussed how much they disliked her and wished she would leave the department, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also accused Meixner of pointing what she believed was a loaded shotgun in her face.

Patch reached out to Meixner for comment and has not received a response.

Meixner has also been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, said Whittlesey.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.