A civil lawsuit against District Attorney John Sarsfield and
Sheriff Curtis Hill has been filed in federal court alleging they
violated a woman’s privacy by publicly revealing her
involvement
– when she was a minor – in a molestation case.
San Benito County and the City of Hollister were also named in
the suit, as well as former interim Police Chief Larry Todd.
A civil lawsuit against District Attorney John Sarsfield and Sheriff Curtis Hill has been filed in federal court alleging they violated a woman’s privacy by publicly revealing her involvement – when she was a minor – in a molestation case.
San Benito County and the City of Hollister were also named in the suit, as well as former interim Police Chief Larry Todd.
The suit’s allegations stem from a Sept. 10 press conference at the Hollister Police Department by the three senior law enforcement officials.
Jacquelyn Stafford-Pelt filed the defamation suit Feb. 6 in the U.S. District Court, San Jose. She is the daughter of Dennis Stafford, a local private investigator, and is now a resident of Boynton Beach, Fla. She declined to comment when reached there Wednesday.
At the press conference in September, officials announced an internal review of conduct at the District Attorney’s Office – regarding Stafford’s employment there as an inspector.
Stafford was initially employed about two decades ago by the District Attorney’s Office for three years. He subsequently worked “from time to time” for the office, according to former District Attorney Harry Damkar.
Sarsfield and Hill claimed Damkar violated a federal law by not divulging how Stafford’s name had been listed on several police reports.
Those police reports that were discussed at the press conference involved Stafford’s daughter – she was sexually molested as a minor.
In the suit, her Hollister attorney Patrick Marshall claims the police reports were “confidential law enforcement records.” Officials, according to the suit, should have obtained Stafford-Pelt’s permission before going public with her name.
According to section 293 of the California Penal Code, law enforcement agencies are not allowed to publicly disclose names of sexual offense victims without their permission.
Sarsfield called the suit frivolous but declined to comment on its specific allegations. Although he did say he’s “seriously considering” filing a counter suit based on “malicious prosecution.”
“It means bringing a lawsuit when there’s no basis to bring one,” Sarsfield said.
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss the action – and whether to represent the individually named officials – during closed session of its meeting next week, Sarsfield said.
Hill did not return phone calls Wednesday. And County Counsel Karen Forcum, who was served with the suit Tuesday, declined to comment.
City Attorney Elaine Cass said the Monterey Bay Insurance Fund represents Hollister on such cases. Todd, who was shortly after succeeded by Police Chief Jeff Miller, could not be reached.
In the suit, Stafford-Pelt accused the officials of intentionally releasing the reports to cause her injury. She claimed they violated her constitutional right to privacy – which allows the case to be heard in federal court.
She is seeking a dollar amount yet to be determined in damages, as well as court and attorney costs. A jury trial has been requested, according to the suit.
On the issue of the internal examination commissioned by Sarsfield and Hill, nearly 60 closed cases dating back to the mid-1980s could be affected – to what extent, though, it is unclear at this point. Sarsfield handed over relevant information to those convicts’ attorneys, he said Wednesday.
But Damkar contended that Stafford was never a material witness for the prosecution, so the federal “Brady Standard” did not apply. He called the allegations a “bunch of garbage.”
“He (Stafford) was always just there to assist us in getting cases put together,” said Damkar, who mentioned such duties by Stafford as preparation of court exhibits and assistance with jury selection.
Before they decided to take action in September, Sarsfield and Hill took a trip to the state Attorney General’s Office and spoke with Bob Anderson, head of its criminal division.
Sarsfield initially said he was directed by Anderson to conduct the internal review. Anderson has said that characterization of their discussion was incorrect.
