A Springfield township firefighter was indicted on charges of rape and gross sexual imposition.

28-year old Brian Swansiger was charged with rape in 2018 by Struthers police, but a grand jury declined to charge him.

Conner O’Halloran, Interim fire chief for Springfield Township, said Swansiger was put on unpaid administrative leave last year, and does not know if he will be returning.

“I took over as interim chief on January 1, and I was briefed shortly after that that this gentleman was put on administrative leave at some point during last year pending an ongoing investigation,” said O’Halloran.

Rape allegations against Swansiger are surfacing for the second time. The allegations first surfaced in 2018, but a grand jury ultimately declined to indict him. 

But now, that's changed. Swansiger is now facing felony rape and gross sexual imposition charges stemming from that case, as well as another alleged incident two years later. 

O’Halloran said he’s disappointed that firefighter would have these serious charges against him.

“These charges are extremely serious and, proven guilty, very disappointing that a firefighter would have these charges against him, but we really can't make a decision until a verdict is official,” said O’Halloran.

The 2018 report from Struthers said Swansiger allegedly met up with someone he matched with on a dating site. Swansiger and the alleged victim matched on the dating app Tinder, according to the report, but knew each other from high school.

He then went over her house and allegedly raped her. 

Another victim was also referenced, relating to an incident from 2020. Much less is known about the 2020 case, which is being handled by a special military unit. 

Swansiger is indicted for three counts of rape and three counts of gross sexual imposition.