A Dayton Fire Department lieutenant fired in August for sexual harassment and lying to investigators has won the appeal of his firing, the Civil Service Board has ruled.

In a ruling released late Monday by the board, the discharge of Brian Monaghan was disaffirmed “after hearing and weighing the testimony of witnesses and viewing the exhibits and observing the demeanor of the witnesses as they testified and after giving consideration to all the facts and circumstances of the entire case.”

The decision finding him not guilty of the allegations was signed by Chairperson Talbert Grooms and member Betty Toney.

Civil Service Board rulings can be appealed. City of Dayton spokesman Tom Biedenharn said the city has not decided whether it will appeal and he would not comment further on the case.

According to records obtained by the Dayton Daily News under the state Sunshine Laws, Monaghan twice exposed himself to a female subordinate in his fire station office. Monaghan denied the allegations, claiming the woman had previously made inappropriate advances toward him. There were also allegations that Monaghan made inappropriate statements during morning roll call on April 4.

All but one of the firefighters interviewed told investigators either they could not remember or could not recall any of the details of two roll calls on April 4 or if there was a second roll call that morning. One firefighter’s testimony mirrored that of the victim’s.

Monaghan told investigators he called the victim into his office the morning of April 4 to discuss an off-duty encounter with her at a Watervliet Avenue restaurant Feb. 29. Monaghan said the victim approached him and suggested she wanted to have sex with him. Monaghan told investigators when the victim came to his office April 4, they had just started to discuss the February incident when his phone rang. The victim, he said, left his office while he was on the phone.

The conclusion of the administrative hearing board was Monaghan was lying about the Feb. 29 encounter.

Monaghan’s lawyer argued that the off-duty incident had nothing to do with Monaghan’s job, and his statement should not be considered.

“It is related,” Fire Chief Herbert Redden responded, according to the transcript. “If, in fact, he made the statement that these chain of events in an administrative hearing or a fact-finding hearing while he is on duty and an employee of the city, it does have some bearing on this case as far as falsification.”

Monaghan’s lawyer also said not all the witnesses had been interviewed, including the woman companion of the victim at the restaurant.

Other firefighters testified the victim was clearly upset following her meetings with Monaghan. She explained the situation to one firefighter, who urged her to take the incidents up the command ladder.