‘She doesn’t suspect it’: Plymouth firefighter accused of secretly recording ex, another man nude

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A Plymouth firefighter who remains on administrative leave is accused of placing hidden cameras to secretly record his ex-girlfriend in the nude with another man, and then sharing at least one of the explicit videos with his colleagues at the Plymouth Fire Department.

Richard Pimental, 31, of Plymouth pleaded not guilty to the charges he is facing in the matter during his arraignment on Jan. 16 in Plymouth District Court, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz’s office.

Pimental, who was summonsed to court, is charged with two counts each of disseminating photos of an unsuspecting person in the nude and wiretapping, according to Cruz’s office. He was ordered to stay away from one victim, with the exception of “job-related communication.”

Pimental was placed on administrative leave in November, the Town of Plymouth said in a statement.

“The Town of Plymouth confirms that a member of the Plymouth Fire Department was placed on administrative leave after being charged criminally in an off-duty matter,” town officials said in a statement. “Firefighter Richard Pimental was placed on leave on Nov. 22, 2023. He will remain on leave pending the results of an investigation being conducted by an outside, independent agency and court proceedings.”

Pimental has been a member of the department since 2018, town officials said.

Police began investigating in November after Plymouth Fire Chief Neil Foley went to the police chief about an internal investigation that “could have criminal implications” against one of his firefighters, Plymouth Police Detective Seth Johnson wrote in his report. Two alleged victims were reporting being secretly videorecorded while having sex by another Plymouth firefighter, police were initially told.

One of the victims told police she had previously been in a relationship with Pimental, and that the two formerly lived together in a house in Plymouth and broke up in February 2023. While Pimental moved out, the woman continued living at the house, she told police.

The woman told police that in early October, she found a new alarm clock on a bedside table in the home that had a camera lens and an SD card in it.

She told police she searched other rooms and found a new “plug wall charger with USB options” that also appeared to have a camera in the face of the charger, police wrote in their report. She told police she initially questioned Pimental about the new alarm clock and charger she found, and he “reportedly denied the items being secret cameras and called her delusional from working so much.” She also found a “suspicious device” on a dresser in a basement bedroom.

On Nov. 22, 2023, Foley, the fire chief, told police that a department employee told him he had overheard “conversation at Station 5 regarding the alleged video.”

Police responded to the fire station and spoke with Pimental, and attempted to seize his cell phone. When police asked Pimental to hand over his cell phone, he initially refused, but later provided it to the detective, police wrote.

One fire department employee told investigators that he saw an explicit, 10-second video -- showing two people interacting naked -- on another emergency responder’s cell phone that was reportedly taken from a “pet camera” inside the house the victim once shared with Pimental, police wrote in their report.

A forensic examination of Pimental’s cell phone later yielded texts between Pimental and other emergency responders, police wrote in their report.

In one text thread in October, according to police, one emergency responder allegedly texted to Pimental: “You legit have her on camera,” to which Pimentel allegedly replied, “yeah which was illegal but I won’t say (expletive).”

On Oct. 11, 2023, in another text between the same emergency responder and Pimentel, the emergency responder allegedly texted “By (sic) another sensor thing and put it somewhere else and leave the one she found where it was,” to which Pimental allegedly responded, “Hopefully she doesn’t find the other one for now.”

On Oct. 18, 2023, according to police, the same emergency responder texted, “Do you still have the cameras up” to which Pimental allegedly replied, “Oh yeah and she doesn’t suspect it.”

Investigators also discovered a video of Pimental having sex with another woman that was being recorded “by the alarm clock hidden camera,” police wrote, adding that it was unknown at the time if the woman was aware of the camera or whether she had consented to the recording.

Pimental earned an annual wage of $91,177 in 2022 as a Plymouth firefighter, according to the website govsalaries.com.

He is due back in court on Feb. 21.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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