FDNY EMS Captain Wilbert Riera Arrested For Committing Child Sex Crimes in California
A New York Fire Department's Emergency Medical Services captain is facing charges for committing sexual acts against two minors in California earlier this month.
Staten Island EMS captain Wilbert Riera, 51, was arrested by a FBI task force while he was working at his Staten Island stationhouse Friday evening on a warrant issued out of Los Angeles. The warrant charges him with conducting six counts of oral sex with children.
According to the warrant, the 21-year veteran committed the assault against two juveniles on Sept. 12 in Hollywood, said a spokesperson with LAPD media relations, reports CBS 2.
"There were two juveniles involved in the incident," LAPD Officer Nuria Vanegas told the New York Daily News. "It happened here in Los Angeles, in Hollywood to be exact."
The FBI placed Riera into NYPD custody at the 120th precinct on Staten Island while he waited for a court preceding that would allow him to be extradited to Los Angeles. His extradition was expected to take place on Monday.
He has also been suspended without pay for 30 days pending the charges, which is the maximum penalty allowed by state, said the FDNY.
Riera's neighbors were shocked to hear the disturbing news about the EMS captain described as dependable and helpful.
"Wilbert is an upstanding member of the community, he's always been a help to anyone that needed help on the block," said Judy Smith, adding that he is not married and shares a home with his mother in Bay Shore, Long Island.
According to the Staten Island Advance, Riera was honored by the FDNY at least three times for "pre-hospital saves" in which he saved the lives of four patients who were being transported to a hospital in the years 2010, 2012 and 2013.