Update: Hallsville man arrested on suspicion of child sex crimes worked as firefighter
UPDATE 7:53 am: The Boone County Fire District has confirmed that Laforce was a volunteer firefighter for The Boone County Fire District Station #3 for 26 years.
Once the fire district heard about Laforce, he was suspended immediately.
Tomorrow morning, the Board will meet in a closed session to discuss a personnel matter.
UPDATE 3:34am: Facebook postings indicate a man deputies arrested on suspicion of child sex crimes worked as a firefighter.
Gary Laforce is accused of sexually assaulting a male juvenile during an eight year span.
ABC 17 News started looking into reports that Laforce worked for the Boone County Fire Protection District after getting a tip Tuesday.
ABC 17 News looked at the district’s Station 3 Hallsville Facebook page, which indicates Laforce worked for the station as recently as June.
The Facebook page mentions Laforce by name and includes at least one picture of Laforce. The picture of Laforce is from Decemeber of 2015 and is captioned in part, “…Firefighter Gary Laforce received their 25 year service award.”
In June of 2016 the station also posted about an original member of the station named Greald LaForce. The post went on to say, “Carrying on the family tradition his son Gary LaForce still currently serves at station three and has been a member for over 20 years.”
ABC 17 News also checked the protection district’s official website for station 3, which does not list Laforce as a member.
ORIGINAL: A Hallsville man is behind bars Tuesday morning after he was arrested on suspicion of child sex crimes.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Department says detectives arrested Gary Laforce Monday.
They say Laforce is accused of sexually assaulting a male juvenile between 1999 and 2007.
Detectives say the crimes allegedly happened at Laforce’s home on East Highway OO at a location on North Route B.
Laforce was arrested on suspicion of two counts of statutory sodomy. He’s held on a $100,000 dollar bond.
Detectives say the Hallsville police department helped in the investigation.
(Editor’s note, 10/26, 3:54 p.m.: An earlier version of the story said the Boone County Fire Protection District Board of Directors would have a closed session for a “personal” matter. The story is updated with the correct information to say it’s for a “personnel” matter.)
