TRENTON - Already charged last year with official misconduct and sex crimes, a former chief of the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company in Toms River, who is also a retired Island Heights police officer, now faces additional charges alleging he forced sexual contact on handcuffed and restrained colleagues and employees he supervised, authorities said.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced the new charges against Robert M. Sinnott Jr., 53, after a state grand jury on Sept. 2 handed up an indictment encompassing the original charges and new crimes uncovered in an ongoing investigation.
The indictment contains nine criminal counts related to 11 victims, Davenport said in a news release.
Sinnott's attorney called the charges "outrageous," and said the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office had previously investigated the allegations against Sinnott and declined to file criminal charges.
"He intends on pleading not guilty and fighting all of these charges because he did not commit any crimes," defense attorney Mitchell Ansell said on behalf of Sinnott.
"This is just outrageous that he can now be indicted, especially after another law enforcement agency declined to prosecute," Ansell said.
The attorney general said an investigation by its Office of Public Integrity and Accountability revealed Sinnott, who served in various supervisory roles at the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company, forced multiple firefighters into acts of non-consensual sexual contact.
The indictment alleges numerous instances of other similar criminal conduct by Sinnott while acting as an Island Heights police officer, the attorney general's news release said.
Sinnott is alleged to have created situations over the course of many years where he would be alone with the victims at various locations, including his Toms River residence and the firehouse, the news release said. In those situations, Sinnott is alleged to have handcuffed victims under the false pretense of needing their assistance with police-related training, or he would otherwise physically restrain them, before forcing sexual contact on them, the release said.
The firefighters who fell victim to the alleged crimes said they saw Sinnott as a role model, the news release said.
"The defendant held positions of trust and power within the communities he served and among his coworkers and subordinates in government," Davenport said. "But, as alleged in the indictment, he abused that trust again and again. 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."
Ansell said Sinnott served with distinction on the Island Heights police force for 22 years, retiring in 2021. He also served the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company with distinction for many years, including 13 years as its chief, from 2008 to 2021, Ansell said.
No allegations were made against Sinnott while he was serving with both agencies, the defense attorney said.
However, three firefighters, all referred to as "John Does," alleged in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Ocean County in March 2025 that Sinnott used his position in the fire department to groom them and sexually assault them as far back as the 1990s.
Ansell said the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office investigated the allegations in the civil suit and declined to file criminal charges against Sinnott. Ansell said the civil suit is pending.
Sinnott, who had moved from Toms River to Cape Coral, Florida, was arrested Dec. 4 by the Cape Coral Police SWAT Team, assisted by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.
He was initially charged in a complaint with four counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and one count of second-degree official misconduct.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, Sinnott was charged with additional counts of criminal sexual conduct and official misconduct, as well as second-degree engaging in a pattern of official misconduct.
He is free, pending future court appearances, Ansell said.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $150,000, while fourth-degree charges carry a sentence up to 18 months in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
The attorney general is asking anyone who may have additional information about Sinnott's conduct to contact the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability's toll-free corruption tip line at 1-888-674-2847, or contact Detective Brandon Mastropasqua at 609-960-3768.
Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ex-Silverton fire chief faces more charges of groping subordinates