Volunteer Firefighter a Registered Sex Offender

This man has paid his debt to society and has not been in trouble with the law since 2003 yes he is a registered sex offender but what happens after the crime and you do the best you can to live a normal life. The sex offender registry is publicized so everyone can see who is and who is not a sex offender so why is he on the news as if he has commited another crime, for years he was a volunteer fire fighter that means for years he did not get paid for fighting fires putting his life on the line for free so how much debt can this man pay to society yes he may be getting paid for work now but now I think it is shame that people still want to judge others by what they have done in the past and WE all have a past I am so glad that God is the ultimate judge not this so called society that does not forgive and surely want forget even when this man has served his time went on with his life trying to be as normal as he can, volunteered his services and paid his debt to society.

I was appalled to learn of this sensationalized reporting of old news. Robert is a respected member of this community and WNCT should be ashamed of themselves for dragging his name through the mud again, for a crime that is several years old. Yes, he made a mistake but he has long since served the time for his crime. Robert is a true asset to this community. Not many people in this day and age choose to dedicate their time to volunteer efforts, and your time would be much better spent doing a story on how many people he’s helped instead of rehashing old news. Robert has personally been a first responder to my family on more than one occasion. Each time he has gone above and beyond to help however he could. He truly cares about helping people and serving his community. His history has no bearing on his ability to do his job, and do it well. Let me tell you, when your house is on fire, or your family is in need of immediate medical assistance the first man that arrives to help is a blessing. On many, many occasions Robert has been that man. And I can assure you that none of the people in need would tell him to go away, his help is not needed simply because of an unrelated crime in his past. I am proud put my name on this message and I intend to stand behind Robert in any way that I can.

Jeff Stocks

It must be a SLOW news day when WNCT has to go digging into old news file to send out breaking news text messages to attack local volunteers. As a local volunteer fire chief myself, I have worked with WNCT on many stories and have gone out of my way to contact the reporter and keep him/her updated on new information. I have also provided access for video and photo ops for the various stories needed. ( In case you didn’t know, that is how the system works. The reporters don’t stay at a scene. They get a little video, some sound bites, and want you to call them so they can stretch the story out for a few days.)Red Oak Fire Department is one of the finest volunteer fire departments I know. Chief Singleton, his officers, and firefighters do it right, from the incident scene to the training ground to the recordkeeping. The residents of Red Oak Fire District should be proud of the job these guys and gals do - for nothing in return. What this man did was wrong, he paid his time and is now trying to get his life back on track. What good can come from this story? What relevance does this have to fire fighting and emergency services? What does it do to his family or to the future of Red Oak Fire Department? Where does the fact checking and shotty reporting stop? Check the rosters of every Pitt County fire department, past and present. Then move to the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other volunteer organizations. When you are done, post the criminal histories of everyone affiliated with WNCT. Let’s see what we can find. Everyone deserves a second chance and you guys are out to ruin this man and this department. Why not make this a positive story and tell how this man has been reformed and now helps the community. No - Good news doesn’t get web site hits or viewers at 6 and 11. Volunteer fire departments provide the same service as paid municipal departments at a much reduced cost to the taxpayer. Fires, auto accidents, natural disasters don’t care if the responder is paid or volunteer. The danger is the same. However, volunteers are getting harder to find due to increased demands placed on us by state and federal mandates. Now WNCT wants to make our job even harder. I am calling for all volunteer departments to ignore any request from WNCT for interviews, photo ops, and filler stories(turkey cookers at Thanksgiving, our thoughts on 9/11, etc.) If you can’t help us, we will stop helping you. For REAL breaking news and reporting on emergencies in you area, tune in to WITN or WCTI. Chief Singleton, you, Mr. O’Neil, and the rest of your firefighters have our support.

that was a pretty low thing to do Laura Vesco. The man has done the crime and done his time. Im sure he appreciates being embarrassed with his face all over the news. I have lost all respect for you Laura Vesco and you organization.

I’m not following why this is such big news. If he didn’t try to hide it from the fire department and they voted to bring him back knowing his past then what’s the big deal. He’s putting out fires not changing diapers at a daycare. Let’s be honest if your house is on fire do you really care who puts it out as long as it goes out. If he is volunteering he must really care about his community and it his community that continues to convict him over and over!!!!