While the rape cop trial has garnered lots of publicity as more and more details have been revealed during the last couple weeks of the trial, a different rape case which hasn't been given much publicity has quietly come to a close. An elite FDNY paramedic, who was accused of raping a drunken 15-year-old he had offered to help "sober up," pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child, and will avoid jail time as a result.
In January 2010, Joel Pierce, also a high-ranking member of the volunteer Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company, found the drunk teenager in the lobby of the Great Neck apartment building they both lived in. The girl knew him, and had often seen him in uniform; the off-duty EMT allegedly offered, "Why don't you sober up in my apartment?" Instead of helping her sober up, Pierce was accused of engaging in sex acts with the underage girl.
The family moved away from the building after the incident, but found it hard to shake the ramifications of it: "It was terrible. My daughter was 15 at the time, so it was hurtful. He was a fireman. I don't want to think about it anymore," said the girl's mother. Pierce pleaded guilty last week to the the misdemeanor charge, and will get three years probation. His lawyer said Pierce wouldn't comment, but did offer this creepy statement: of the alleged rape, the lawyer said, "If anything occurred, it certainly was not against her will."
