Former Ligonier Valley police chief charged with sexual assault

The former Ligonier Valley police chief was arrested and jailed Friday afternoon on allegations that he sexually assaulted a patient at a Donegal Township addiction recovery center, according to court papers.

John E. Berger, 52, of Ligonier Borough was charged by state police with aggravated indecent assault, institutional sexual assault and related offenses.

Troopers were contacted by the female accuser this week.

She told them she first met Berger last year while both were patients at the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and reported he made unwanted sexual advances toward her then.

Berger was fired from his job as police chief May 9, 2023, days after the department was raided in an investigation that officials have said focused solely on him.

That raid was handled by the federal Department of Homeland Security and state police. No charges have been filed.

The accuser returned to the recovery center as a patient in March to find Berger was now working there as a behavioral health technician. He resumed with the unwanted sexual advances and bought her nicotine patches and cigarettes, according to court papers.

On Monday, he sexually assaulted her in her room, police said. Video surveillance from the center showed he was inside the room for five minutes, according to court papers.

Two days later, Berger sent the accuser a friend request on Facebook. Police said employees there are not allowed to contact patients until two years after they’ve been discharged.

During an interview with troopers Friday, Berger admitted to the assault, according to court papers.

He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $100,000 bail. Berger did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A May 17 preliminary hearing is set.

In the immediate aftermath of the raid May 4, 2023, during which his personal cellphone and police vehicle were seized, Berger was placed on administrative leave until the Ligonier Valley Police Commission fired him five days later.

The nature of that investigation remains unclear.

He is a longtime resident of the Ligonier area and had served in area law enforcement since 1993. Berger was Ligonier Borough’s police chief since 2004 until the Ligonier borough and township departments combined about five years ago.

Berger then became chief of the new Ligonier Valley force.