Perv Police Chief Arrested—
The 55-year-old police chief in the small town of Manville, Thomas Herbst, was arrested and charged with multiple accounts of sexual assault, official misconduct and one count of criminal sexual contact, on Wednesday, by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
According to multiple reports, Herbst, a 30-year veteran of the police department, regularly groped, masturbated, exposed himself, and sexually harassed female employees between 2008 and 2021 inside police headquarters and elsewhere. He forced at least one subordinate into performing sexual acts and solicited sexual favors from the wife of one of his officers. “The defendant allegedly ordered the victim at one point to only wear skirts to facilitate and escalate his assaults,” Platkin said during a Wednesday press conference.
Manville is a small community located in Somerset County with a population of about 11,000 residents. The mayor, Richard Onderko could not be reached for comment regarding the arrest of Herbst. However, in a statement to the media, an attorney for the disgraced police captain said Herbst has never engaged in any nonconsensual activity “with any woman, period.” Herbst was placed on paid administrative leave in 2022.
Additionally, Platkin announced that another former police chief, Andrew Kudrick, 49, was charged with lying, official misconduct, falsifying public records, abuse of power, and attempting to cover up an illicit extramarital affair with a co-worker. Kudrick retired from his position last year, shortly after the allegations of a cover-up, misconduct, and obstruction surfaced and became public.
“Given the imbalance of power between a Chief of Police and a subordinate, any romantic relationship would be wholly inappropriate, violative of police, and detrimental to the safety and well-being of the officers and civilians under the Chief’s command,” Platkin said.
Lastly, the disturbing allegations are the latest in recent embarrassing events and bad behavior involving law enforcement officers in New Jersey. Last month, Platkin announced the state was taking control of the Paterson Police Department following years of citizen complaints, corruption, misconduct, and scandal.