Police chief accused of raping employee is suspended

SOMERSET, N.J. (AP) — An employee of a New Jersey police department has filed a lawsuit accusing the chief of rape and other sexual abuse over many years. NJ Advance Media reported that the Manville borough council voted Thursday to put police Chief Thomas J. Herbst on paid temporary leave. The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the allegations that Herbst sexually abused and raped the employee multiple times. The employee also accuses another officer of pointing a shotgun at her this month. Herbst did not respond to requests for comment. An attorney for the employee says the trauma she has endured was “unspeakable.”