Woman alleges rape by Springfield firefighter she met on Facebook
EDITORS NOTE: This news account contains explicit sexual references that some readers may find disturbing
A Springfield Township firefighter, already facing rape charges in Mahoning County, was booked into the Portage County Jail late Thursday on a secret indictment alleging new sex offenses. The indictment also includes specifications that could lead to additional penalties against 28-year-old Brian Swansiger if he is found guilty and determined to be a sexually violent predator.
Swansiger is charged with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual battery, two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of kidnapping.
According to a police report, the charges stem from an incident on New Year's Day, 2024, in Kent, where Swansiger is accused of restraining and raping a 20-year-old woman. The alleged victim reported meeting Swansiger on Facebook Dating and going on their first date at a restaurant in Kent. She told police that before the date, they had agreed not to engage in sexual activity.
The police report details alleged actions by Swansiger after they got into his car in the Municipal Lot. The victim reported that Swansiger aggressively kissed her, squeezed her neck, pulled her hair, and forcibly exposed and bit her breasts. She also claims that he exposed himself and repeatedly asked her to perform a sex act on him.
The woman told police that Swansiger ignored her repeated efforts to keep him from placing his hands down her jeans.
Despite her repeated refusals, the victim told police that Swansiger pressured her into sexual intercourse. She told police that she "gave in to make him stop," not feeling safe telling him no.
Swansiger then drove them to a more secluded area at the Kramer Ball Fields where the two had unprotected intercourse, according to the police report.
The woman said she did not immediately report the incident due to shock and uncertainty, but later contacted police, saying she felt that she had been sexually assaulted. She underwent a Sexual Assault Kit examination at the Cleveland Clinic and filed the police report with the Kent Police Department four days after the encounter. She provided the underwear and blue jeans she was wearing during the incident as evidence.
The indictment’s sexually violent predator specification is applied to individuals charged with certain violent sex offenses, assault, or kidnapping offenses committed with a sexual motivation. If found guilty and designated a "sexually violent predator" by a judge or jury, Swansiger could face tougher penalties, including longer prison sentences and lifetime sex offender registration.
Mike Yacovone, partner with Ingram, Grimm & Yacovone LLP, said this specification is not common.
"I’ve only seen a handful over my years working both as a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. I’ve never seen, nor really heard of it actually playing out in the courts," said Yacovone. "There's a number of factors that would need to be presented to either the court, or a jury... namely have they been convicted of sexual offenses in the past? Do they chronically commit offenses with a sexual motivation? Do they have a documented history of sexually deviant behavior, and alike."
In a separate case in Mahoning County, Swansiger is scheduled for trial in October on rape and gross sexual imposition charges. That case has a pretrial hearing set for Aug. 5, and a final pretrial hearing for Oct. 8.
As a result of that case, Swansiger was placed on unpaid administrative leave from his firefighter position with the Springfield Township Fire Department last year.
The allegations against Swansiger in Mahoning County surfaced previously. In 2018, Struthers police charged him with rape, but a county grand jury declined to indict him. However, new charges stemming from that 2018 incident and another alleged incident in 2020 were brought against him. The 2020 case is reportedly being handled by a special military unit. The 2018 Struthers report alleged that Swansiger met a woman through the dating app Tinder, with whom he had known from high school.
Swansiger remained in custody early Friday awaiting an arraignment scheduled for Monday morning in Portage County Common Pleas Court.
Swansiger has been on unpaid administrative leave from the Springfield Township fire department since fall of 2023.
"We don’t want to pass judgement on a case where we’re not on the jury or a judge. With that being said, any type of allegations of criminal activity does not represent the fire department. I want to make that very clear," said Wright.
Wright said they will make a decision on his employment once there is an outcome to the investigation.