Hollister
– Recent suspensions within the San Benito County Probation
Department have revealed what some believe is an ongoing problem
with pornography.
Hollister – Recent suspensions within the San Benito County Probation Department have revealed what some believe is an ongoing problem with pornography.
Suspended San Benito County Chief Probation Officer Deborah Botts sent pornographic e-mails to at least one Probation Department staff member and helped foster a lax attitude toward sexually explicit material, according to an attorney for recently suspended Juvenile Hall Superintendent Tim Pierleoni.
Both Botts and Pierleoni were placed on administrative leave last week. Pierleoni has been slated for termination, according to his attorney. County and court officials have repeatedly declined to comment on the reasons the two were placed on leave. Botts and Pierleoni have been replaced by interim employees.
Attorney Steven Cohn, Pierleoni’s counsel, said his client was suspended on a host of “unofficial charges” ranging from accessing pornography at work to extramarital affairs with Juvenile Hall personnel. He said his client was never told the exact reasons for his administrative leave, but was instead questioned about “vague charges.” Cohn said on Friday that he had copies of several pornographic e-mails sent by Botts.
“Mr. Pierleoni has received pornographic e-mails from Chief Botts,” Cohn said. “He was probably offended by the e-mails from Chief Botts because she was a woman and he didn’t know how to react.”
One of the e-mails Botts allegedly sent to Pierleoni on Dec. 30, 2004, contained a cartoon about breast implants, jokes about erections and condom usage, and nude pictures, Cohn said. He said he had copies of the e-mails in a large binder. Cohn provided the Free Lance with copies of two e-mails Botts allegedly sent to Pierleoni.
Botts could not be reached for comment by press time on Thursday. Pierleoni directed questions to his attorney.
Pierleoni has worked at Juvenile Hall for 14 years, Cohn said. As superintendent, he ran the day-to-day operations of the facility, making between $56,304 and $71,868 annually.
Botts has served as the chief probation officer for nearly five years. The chief probation officer is responsible to the presiding judge of the San Benito County Superior Court and runs the entire Probation Department and manages the 35 full-time employees in the department. The chief probation officer makes $86,952 per year.
Cohn, of the Employment Advocacy Center, an employment law rights group in San Jose, said he plans to have Pierleoni reinstated with full back-pay on account of claims that Botts fostered a workplace environment where pornography was acceptable.
“If you’ve got the chief (probation officer) doing it, how can you fire the troops for doing it?” Cohn said.
Rich Inman, the county’s director of internal services, said the county has completed its investigation into Pierleoni. He declined to comment on the nature or the scope of the investigation or what, if any, action the county plans to take.
“Our investigation is complete,” he said. “But this is a personnel matter we cannot comment on.”
Inman said the county has sent Pierleoni a letter of intent, which usually includes what policies the employee has allegedly violated and what disciplinary action the county plans to take.
County employees have 10 days to respond to the county’s letter of intent, said Jacki Credico, a management analyst with the county. After an employee responds, the county then issues a final decision on what disciplinary action, if any, should be taken. The employee has the option to appeal the final decision within 10 days to the County Board of Supervisors, Credico said. She said disciplinary actions can include written or verbal reprimands, suspension and termination.
Cohn said the county has recommended Pierleoni be fired, an action he plans to appeal and get reversed through the administrative hearing process. He said a hearing could take place as early as next week.
Cohn said pornography is “rampant” on computers at Juvenile Hall. Cohn, who has represented several local law enforcement officers and Juvenile Hall guards in San Benito County during the last few years, said that while pornography is inappropriate, it is part of a wider culture.
“The culture of Juvenile Hall, the culture of law enforcement is one of athleticism, physicality, honor, duty and perhaps liberty with this kind of material,” he said. “There appears to be a sophomoric hard edge to organizations that deal with the harsh realities of keeping the peace. Yes it’s inappropriate, but it’s the culture. If you want to stop it, you have to stop the culture.”
In April, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors passed a comprehensive electronic communications usage policy that defines how county computers should and should not be used. The policy prohibits employees from using county computers to conduct personal business and accessing pornographic or gambling Web sites. It further directs department heads to ensure the guidelines are followed. Employees who fail to adhere to the guidelines can lose their computer privileges or be subject to disciplinary action, including termination. Before the policy was adopted in April, there had been no county-wide guidelines on technology usage.
A former Juvenile Hall guard, Manuel Gonzales, told the Free Lance that pornography has been an issue at the facility since 2002.
“There were times where there have been problems with pornography,” he said. “Even the kids (Juvenile Hall inmates) saw the pornography. They would log on to the computers and all these images would come up.”
Gonzales said pornography would just “pop up” when the computers were booted up and connected to the Internet.
Gonzales was fired from his job at Juvenile Hall in January after being arrested for gun possession and possession of prescription pills in December of 2005. Gonzales, who now works in a different field, believes he was set up for attempting to call attention to Pierleoni’s conduct, specifically the supervisor’s relationships with Juvenile Hall personnel.
“I blew the whistle not just on Tim (Pierleoni), but a lot of other people there,” Gonzales said. “I was set up. I was arrested three weeks after I asked (Pierleoni) to talk with a detective about what was going on over there.”
Gonzales pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor gun charge in a plea deal with San Benito County Deputy District Attorney Candice Hooper in June. A note in Hooper’s case file reads: “Affirmative def. (defense) – snitched on super. (supervisor).” At the time of Gonzales’ arrest, Pierleoni was his supervisor.
Gonzales’ attorney, Greg LaForge, said he was concerned about the current case.
“My representation of clients does not stop at sentencing,” he said. “If it is determined that law enforcement or any other agency somehow set up my client to take the fall for witnessing indecent behavior, it’s my duty to put this case back on calendar and ask that the misdemeanor charge be dismissed.”
San Benito County Supervisor Pat Loe said she didn’t know anything about the allegations of “rampant” pornography at Juvenile Hall.
“If that’s true, I’m very concerned,” Loe said Monday. “We’ll have to allow the investigation to wind down and we’ll definitely put corrective measures in place.”
While the county’s investigation into Pierleoni is complete, the court, which appoints the chief probation officer, hasn’t started its own investigation.
San Benito County Superior Court Clerk Gil Solorio declined to comment on the allegations.
“It’s still a personnel matter that we cannot discuss,” he said. “And we haven’t even begun our investigation.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 332 or [email protected].
