Firefighter Says Episode of Nudity Was Unintentional

A veteran Los Angeles firefighter denied Tuesday that he intentionally appeared in the nude in front of a woman colleague as she was working out at a Westchester fire station earlier this year.

Anthony Morales, 33, a member of the Los Angeles Fire Department for seven years, told a board of rights hearing that Firefighter Sharyl Plebuch Seward had seen him nude, but he said it was an unintentional encounter after he had finished taking a shower.

And, while admitting that some other departmental charges were partly true, Morales offered explanations suggesting that he and Seward were “engine mates,” who engaged in physical “horseplay” and familiar conversations, including one about her breast size.

Basis of Charges

Morales faces multiple misconduct charges--including allegations that he repeatedly slapped Seward on the buttocks, reached toward her chest, tried to kiss her, simulated masturbation and once tried to tug her into the station’s TV room to watch the Playboy Channel.

Earlier, in sometimes tearful testimony, Seward portrayed herself in the hearing as a victim of sexual harassment by Morales almost immediately after joining Station 5, where she was completing a year’s probation early this year.

Under questioning by Capt. John F. Kirkorn, the Fire Department’s chief advocate, Morales testified Tuesday that the door to the upstairs dormitory was open in February when he walked nude from the shower, heard someone exercising, turned toward the sound and briefly encountered Seward.

“It was just: boom, boom, boom, and I was gone,” he said.

Testimony Refuted

Morales denied Seward’s testimony that the door leading to the dorm had been closed while she was working out and that Morales opened it and displayed himself in the nude three separate times while making repeated comments.

When Kirkorn asked why Seward would insist that Morales had exposed himself three times, Morales replied:

“I have no idea why, other than the fact that we got in an argument and this story grew and grew . . ..”

In other testimony, Morales admitted that he repeatedly slapped Seward on the buttocks when they were on the fire engine or going up stairs, but he portrayed it as an act of camaraderie, without sexual overtones.

He admitted that he once grabbed at Seward’s breasts, but he said it was only because they were playfully pulling and tugging in the station’s locker room.

He testified that he and Seward had kissed once in the locker room, but he insisted that it was a mutual embrace, not a one-sided kiss by Morales, as Seward testified.

He admitted that he once simulated masturbation during a conversation with Seward, but he blamed her for making a suggestive statement, which he commented on by making the gesture.

Conversation Recalled

He admitted that he once asked Seward her breast size, but he said it was because they had been talking about breast implants.

He denied that he once tried to pull Seward into the station’s TV-viewing room to watch the Playboy Channel, insisting that while he touched her and urged her to look, she watched the program for a minute or two without protest.

Seward testified that she confronted Morales after the nude encounter and told him that she did not appreciate what had happened. But, she said, her situation improved only briefly and then the sexual harassment resumed.

Morales has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the board of rights hearing.