11 Victims Assaulted Back To 2002 By Ex-Fire Chief In Ocean County, NJAG Says

TRENTON, NJ — A former fire chief and former police officer from Toms River restrained victims with handcuffs and groped or otherwise touched them sexually as far back as 2002, according to court documents.

Those details were part of an indictment handed up on Wednesday by a state grand jury against Robert M. Sinnott Jr., the former fire chief of the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company and a former Island Heights police officer.

Sinnott, 53, was indicted on nine counts involving 11 victims, state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said, and authorities are urging anyone else with information about Sinnott’s activities to come forward. He is charged with five counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, three counts of second-degree official misconduct, and one count of second-degree pattern of official misconduct, according to the indictment.

The first eight counts are in connection with allegations that first came to light in a pair of lawsuits filed in the spring of 2025 accusing Sinnott of sexually abusing four firefighters. The indictment alleges Sinnott created situations where he would be alone with the victims at his home in Toms River, at the Silverton Fire Company firehouse, or other locations. He then allegedly handcuffed them under the guise of “training,” or otherwise physically restrained them, before forcing acts of sexual contact upon them, according to the lawsuits and the indictment.

In some instances, the victims reported that Sinnott took photographs of them while they were restrained.

A 92-page lawsuit filed in March 2025 by three firefighters said incidents happened in 2017, 2021 and 2023, and the second lawsuit, filed in April 2025 by a fourth firefighter, alleged Sinnott assaulted him on two occasions in 2023, once placing the victim in a wrist lock and restraining his arms from behind while "pressing his penis against Plaintiff’s back." Both incidents stopped when another firefighter answering a call came into the firehouse, the lawsuit said.

The incidents involving the other seven victims are grouped under the final charge of pattern of official misconduct, according to the indictment. They allege the victims were groped or otherwise touched by Sinnott between 2002 and 2012, in connection with Sinnott’s job as a police officer. He is accused of handcuffing them on the pretense of police training and then touching their bodies. In two instances he laid on top of the victim after handcuffing them, the indictment says.

Sinnott was president of the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company from 2017-2021 and was a police officer until February 2021 with the Island Heights Police Department, serving for 23 years. Sinnott had been on administrative leave from the fire company, where he had held several positions of authority, since 2023. The indictment said Sinnott had retired from the Island Heights Police Department.

The lawsuits, which also name officers of the fire company as defendants, allege Sinnott had abused new recruits for years, both at Sinnott's home but also "in full view of others at the firehouse." They also allege Sinnott then isolated the vitctms from the rest of the fire company by spreading rumors and by telling the victims that other members of the company hated them.

The two lawsuits have since been combined, according to court records. They are on hold while the criminal case is pending, according to court records.

Sinnott was arrested in Cape Coral, Florida, on Dec. 4 by the Cape Coral Police SWAT Team with assistance from New Jersey's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. Search warrants were executed on his home, person, and vehicle, authorities said.

He was extradited to New Jersey in December and released after a detention hearing with conditions pending trial, the state attorney general's office said Thursday.

The attorney general's office said anyone who believes they have additional information about Sinnott’s conduct should call the office's toll-free tip line for reporting corruption, 1-844-674-2847, or directly contact Detective Brandon Mastropasqua at 609-960-3768.

"The defendant held positions of trust and power within the communities he served and among his coworkers and subordinates in government. But, as alleged in the indictment, he abused that trust again and again," Davenport said. "It is inexcusable for public officials to so betray the people they serve and the people they lead. The State is committed to fighting for justice for these victims."

Previous reporting:

Ex-Cop, Fire Chief Handcuffed, Sexually Abused Young Toms River Firefighters, Suit Says

Toms River Fire Chief Accused Of Sex Assaults Was Put On Leave, Fire District Says

Ex-Fire Chief Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Firefighters Arrested In Florida