A 38-year-old convicted sex offender says the Derby Fire Department discriminated against him by not allowing him to join their ranks.
Joseph Fragoso, of Waterbury, filed a complaint with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities Sept. 8.
In the complaint, Fragoso says he was denied membership because of his ancestry and criminal conviction. Fragoso is Hispanic.
Fragoso pleaded guilty in 2014 to second-degree sexual assault.
He molested a 16-year-old girl, according to The Hartford Courant.
Fragoso was a lieutenant with the Coventry Volunteer Fire Association at the time of his arrest. The victim was a member of the department’s “junior” program.
At his sentencing, according to the Courant, “prosecutor Elizabeth Leaming told the judge that Fragoso has been accused of sexually assaulting two other girls, one in the early 1990s and another who recanted her accusation. There was no arrest in either case.”
An email seeking comment was sent to Fragoso Thursday.
Derby Fire Commissioner Michael Kelleher confirmed that a hearing was held during which Fragoso was denied membership.
“I didn’t think it was appropriate to have him as a member of the Derby Fire Department, and I stand by that opinion,” Kelleher said.
Kelleher said the decision had nothing to do with Fragoso’s ancestry. The commissioner noted firefighters interact with the public all the time, entering homes, schools and places of business.
According to a Journal Inquirer story published when he was sent to jail, Fragoso “can’t have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18, except for his children.”
The Derby Fire Department has an auxiliary program for underage members.
According to the state’s sex offender registry, Fragoso was convicted in March 2014. He was released from prison in December 2015.
Fragoso was previously a member of the East End Hose Co., first joining in 2006, according to his complaint.
He said that he requested to join the Derby Fire Department again in February.
“As part of my rehabilitation, I went through therapy and successfully completed treatment,” he wrote in his complaint.
Fragoso says Derby FD “retaliated” against him by contacting the State Fire Commissioner’s Office, which caused more trouble.
“The state is pursuing revocation of my firefighter certificates,” he wrote.
Fragoso said other “non-Hispanic, white firefighters have been arrested and/or convicted of crimes” but have not been removed from the department.
Commissioner Kelleher said he is not aware of any convicted felons currently serving in the city as volunteer firefighters.
Derby has 30 days to respond to the complaint.
Fragoso was arrested along with Joseph M. Carilli, a former fire chief in Coventry who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping another girl in the “juniors” program.
