Librarian fired after reporting patron viewing child porn (OneNewsNow.com)

Librarian fired after reporting patron viewing child porn

Allie Martin - OneNewsNow - 3/20/2008 6:00:00 AM

library computer small One California county may be facing a lawsuit by former librarian Brenda Biesterfeld, who says she was fired after alerting authorities that a patron was viewing child pornography on library computers.

A librarian assistant at the Lindsay Library, Biesterfeld was on the job late last month when she noticed 39-year-old Donny Chrisler downloading child porn on library computers. Biesterfeld told her supervisor Judi Hill, who instructed her to issue Chrisler a warning. Instead, Biesterfeld called police the next day. A few days later, Chrisler returned and Biesterfeld noticed he was once again viewing child porn. She notified police, who came and arrested Chrisler on the spot.

According to a press release, the police also confiscated the library's computer that had used by Chrisler. Supervisor Hill confronted police, accusing them of interfering where they did not belong and assuring them that county librarians were handling the matter internally. After police explained that, since federal law had been violated, it was now a legal matter in their hands, Hill demanded to know who reported the incident. The police protected Biesterfeld's identity. However, she was fired two days later.

"Everyone says I should be a hero; instead I get fired," Biesterfeld laments.

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Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, says Biesterfeld should not be punished for doing the right thing. He believes there is only one response when someone is caught viewing child porn, which he describes as "despicable crime against children" in a recent press release.

"You simply don't ignore child pornography when it's being viewed on the Internet. It's illegal both on the state and federal level[s] .... You don't allow taxpayer dollars to fund that kind of illegal criminal activity," Staver contends.

Biesterfeld contacted Liberty Counsel, which has sent a letter to county officials demanding that she get her job back, and also asking officials to review and change their policies.

"We are asking for this library to retract its position, to rehire Mrs. Biesterfeld, to give a written apology for this situation, and to pass a policy that is very clear that the library staff have a duty to report this kind of activity when they view it in the library system," Staver notes.

A search warrant turned up thousands of images of child pornography on Chrisler's home computer. He is currently behind bars, awaiting trial.