Columbus Fire & EMS employee charged with sexual battery, violation of oath released on bond
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A worker with the Columbus Department of Fire & Emergency Medical Services was arrested Thursday on two counts of sexual battery and one charge of violating his oath of office, the department announced.
Rodney Boles, 53, was booked into the Muscogee County Jail at 10:30 a.m. and released on bond 28 minutes later, according to jail records.
He waived a preliminary hearing Friday morning in Columbus Recorder’s Court, so the case next will go to Muscogee Superior Court.
Boles’ superiors declined to give any details on the allegations while a Columbus Police Department Special Victims Unit investigation continues, in addition to a fire department probe.
“We have to conduct our own thorough, internal investigation,” Deputy Chief Ricky Shores said Friday.
Shores would not say whether the accusations involved Boles’ conduct while on duty, but in a statement disseminated to the media Thursday, the department wrote:
“While the Fire & EMS Department is saddened by this event, we are pleased that we have created an environment where members who encounter such behavior are empowered to confidentially report it and can expect a thorough investigation.”
Boles is now on unpaid administrative leave, it said.
“As there is an active investigation underway, there will be no further comment from Columbus Fire & EMS on this incident,” the statement read.
The release Thursday did not name Boles.
Asked why his department issued a news release about the arrest of an employee without disclosing the name, Scarpa said, “Columbus Fire & EMS has nothing to hide. I want the information out there that we’re aware of this arrest. We knew it was going to come out at some point anyway. … There are obviously some things associated with investigations that we can’t release, but by and large I’d like to think we’re pretty transparent.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 5:11 PM.
