A former library aide at the Lindsay branch has filed a claim for wrongful termination against Tulare County.

The claim was filed on July 9 by Warren Paboojian, the attorney representing former library aide Brenda Biesterfeld, who was fired March 6 after reporting a patron viewing child pornography to the Lindsay Police Department. According to the claim, Biesterfeld ìsuffered damages which included but is not limited to past and future wage loss, emotional distress, medical bills, attorneyís fees and costs Ö in excess of $25,000.î

The filing claims that Biesterfeld was ìwrongfully terminated from her job in retaliation for reporting to law enforcement the viewing of pornography or inappropriate materials on the library computers by Donny Crisler. She was also subjected to sexual harassment/hostile work environment as a result of the subject incident.î

Tulare County has 45 days to accept or reject the claim. Most claims are rejected by cities and it is expected the county will do the same. Once rejected, Biesterfeld can then file a lawsuit against the county.

Biesterfeld was fired following a controversial set of circumstances surrounding a man (Crisler) viewing child pornography on one of the computers at the Lindsay branch of the Tulare County Library.

Lindsay Police officers detained Donny Lynn Chrisler, 39, of Lindsay for questioning on March 4 while he was viewing pornography at one of the computers. A search of his home in the 600 block of W. Hermosa Street revealed hundreds of printed images and thousands of stored images of young boys in sexual poses.

Biesterfeld first noticed Chrisler acting suspicious on Feb. 28. After teaching him how to download images onto a CD, Biesterfeld noticed that Chrisler had turned the computer screen in toward him. When she walked behind him to investigate, she saw several images of nude boys.

Biesterfeld claims that when she called her supervisor, Judi Hill, to report the man that Hill told her not to report the incident to police and to give the man a warning instead. Biesterfeld called the police anyway and she was fired the next week, one-week shy of completing her six-month probationary period.

Library officials say that Biesterfeld was not fired for reporting the incident to police, but instead for her inability to complete routine assignments and for not keeping her supervisors informed of community complaints. The county released Biesterfeldís personnel records on April 7 detailing 13 reasons why she was fired, after the former employee signed off on the release.

While the list outlines exactly what Biesterfeld failed to do in her position at the library, it also contradicts statements made by the county that the child pornography case had nothing to do with her firing.

The portion about ìproblems and community complaintsî was further referenced in an item directly related to the child porn incident.

The document states that ÝìMs. Biesterfeld did not tell her supervisors that the patron was accessing child pornography, and thereafter she neglected to notify anyone in management of the events which transpired, including the suspectís arrest until after they had occurred and failed to advise that the libraryís computer had been seized.îÝ

The document goes on to state that ìMs. Biesterfeld was insubordinate on March 4, 2008, when she refused to answer her supervisorís questions [about the child porn incident].î The document said Biesterfeld told her supervisor, Judi Hill, that R. Wilkinson with the City of Lindsay had requested Hill to contact him. Despite repeated requests that she identify Wilkinson, Biesterfeld refused to mention that Wilkinson, whom she knew to be a captain with the Lindsay Police Department, was a police officer.

Biesterfeldís firing sparked outrage among Lindsay residents, who held a candlelight vigil for the children of Lindsay in her honor; City Council members, who threatened to end their partnership with the County to build and operate its new library; and national conservative groups, who offered to pay her legal fees.

Chrisler, the man accused of viewing child pornography, has since been released on $10,000 bail. Chrisler, who is deaf and mute, will appear in court July 28 for a hearing to determine if is competent to participate in his own defense. Chrislerís defense attorney told a judge on March 19 that his client is unable to help in his own defense because of developmental disabilities. The attorney said Chrisler does not know American Sign Language but rather a slang version of sign language that makes it difficult to communicate with interpreters. If convicted, Chrisler could face seven years in prison.

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