Child Porn In A Library Is OK?

Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Woman Fired For Reporting Library Patron Looking At Naked Boys Online

Librarians across the United States should report child pornography to law enforcement despite their supervisors’ reluctance to protect children, said Campaign for Children and Families, a leading California-based pro-family organization.

County librarian assistant Brenda Biesterfeld of Lindsay was fired after disobeying her supervisor’s order not to report a man who was looking at naked boys on the library’s public computer. She called police anyway, who, during his next library visit, caught 39-year-old Donny Lynn Chrisler allegedly viewing child pornography. Chrisler was arrested March 4 on suspicion of violating child pornography and obscenity laws. Police also say they found “kiddie porn” in Chrisler’s trailer home.

Nonetheless, Biesterfeld was fired. “She kind of threatened me,” Biesterfeld said, describing her conversation with Judi Hill, her supervisor. “She said I worked for the county, and when the county tells you to do something, you do what the county tells you. She said I had no loyalty to the county. I told her I was a mother and a citizen also, and not just a county employee.”

Biesterfeld was fired on March 6. A letter from Tulare County Librarian Brian Lewis said probationary employees can be terminated at any time if they don't perform at a level “necessary for fully satisfactory performance in the employee's position.” But a Lindsay city councilwoman said six weeks before the firing that she was told Biesterfeld was doing a great job.

On March 14, the Lindsay City Council sent a letter to Tulare county supervisors complaining about Judi Hill’s “abrupt, demanding and demeaning” phone call to a police captain telling him to call off his pornography investigation because the city had “no business interfering” with library matters.

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