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Calif. teacher fired for porn site wants job back Associated Press Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:26 PM STOCKTON, Calif. - A California teacher fired after she was accused of operating pornographic websites from a school-issued laptop is fighting to get her job back in hearings that began this week. An attorney for Heidi Kaeslin argued Monday before a Stockton administrative law judge that the Lincoln Unified School District crafted disconnected events "into a theme that simply didn't happen" when they fired her last year. According to attorney Tom Driscoll, Kaeslin's participation in the websites was brief and her role wasn't pornographic, the Stockton Record reported (http://bit.ly/UvuitH). Driscoll likened topless photos of her on a boat on the Sacramento Delta as "just breasts, a la National Geographic." She allegedly was involved with the now-defunct websites from late 2010 until at least April 2011. Kaeslin is neither immoral nor unfit to teach, Driscoll said. Misleading evidence includes a boudoir photography book she made as an anniversary gift for her husband, he said. Photos of her naked children found on the computer were typical photos that parents take of toddlers, Driscoll said. Lincoln Unified counters that Kaeslin, 36, engaged in unprofessional and immoral conduct. The district accuses Kaeslin of keeping thousands of pornographic and erotic images on her school-issued laptop, then lying about her activities when administrators questioned her. The district was subject to embarrassment when the story hit the Internet, the district has maintained. "If you were to Google her name today, you would find there are still over 10,000 live hits," attorney Marlene Sacks said, adding that Kaeslin "set an appalling example for a teacher" and that her character is "so fundamentally flawed" she cannot return to the classroom. The three-member panel will decide the issue after hearing from an estimated 15 witnesses. It can be appealed to San Joaquin County Superior Court.
Attorneys open teacher porn hearing
By Roger Phillips STOCKTON - The attorney for a Lincoln High School special-education teacher fired this year for allegedly operating four pornographic websites on a laptop computer owned by Lincoln Unified has accused the district of "crafting ... a cacophony of disconnected events into a theme that simply didn't happen." Attorney Tom Driscoll made the remark Monday morning during opening arguments at a hearing filed for earlier this year by the teacher, Heidi Kaeslin, who is trying to get her job back. Driscoll's statement, which lasted more than one hour, marked the first time the 36-year-old Kaeslin's side of the story has been publicly presented. The hearing, being held at Lincoln Unified's Brookside Farmhouse, is before a three-member panel headed by administrative law judge Rebecca Westmore. According to Westmore, the hearing could last well into next week and 15 witnesses could be called. After the panel rules, the losing party will have the option to appeal the matter in San Joaquin County Superior Court. Following a graphic hourlong opening statement by Lincoln Unified attorney Marleen Sacks, Driscoll strongly rebutted the criticism of his client's character. Driscoll said Kaeslin, who sat silently beside him, is "not immoral," "not unfit to teach," "not insubordinate" and "not dishonest." The attorney added that Kaeslin's participation in the operation of the websites was minimal and brief, that her role was in aspects that were not pornographic nor obscene and largely did not involve nudity. She was also a victim at times of her lack of technical acumen with her district-issued Apple laptop, Driscoll said. Driscoll did acknowledge one instance involving nudity. He said a photo shoot run by Kaeslin and another woman on a boat on the Delta was comparable to a "Girls Gone Wild" production, "just breasts, a la 'National Geographic,' except these were Caucasian women." The allegations revolve around four now-defunct websites: RandHentertainment.com, 360pig.com, teachertitties.com and mysluttyteachers.com. Kaeslin was mostly involved with teachertitties.com and it showed only cleavage, not fully bare breasts, Driscoll said. Kaeslin's involvement was from late 2010 until at least April 2011, though Lincoln Unified argues she was involved into the summer of 2011. Kaeslin's now-estranged husband, Trent, was aware of the websites and wrote a business plan, Driscoll said. Trent Kaeslin's attorney, Dennis Duncan, said his client "denies the allegations by Mr. Driscoll in his opening statement." The Kaeslin marriage fell apart last year in part because Heidi Kaeslin, using Driscoll's word, was the "paramour" of retired Stockton police officer Richard Fields. Kaeslin briefly provided technical assistance to Fields on the mysluttyteachers.com site, Driscoll said, adding that the teacher quickly found the graphic content to be "gross" and she stopped. Driscoll also said Lincoln Unified has based some of its case on misleading evidence. A "boudoir book" with explicit photos of Kaeslin was a private anniversary gift to her husband never intended as public pornography, he said. Photos of her naked children that also became part of Lincoln's evidence were typical of pictures all parents take of their toddlers, Driscoll said, but he charged Lincoln has used them as evidence of possible child pornography. Lincoln alleges one photo showed a small child with a cylindrical object in her mouth, but Driscoll said closer examination revealed the object to be a Popsicle. Lincoln Unified's position is that Kaeslin's firing should stand because of her "numerous acts of immoral and unprofessional conduct, violations of rules and repeated dishonesty." Among the district's charges are that Kaeslin's laptop contained "thousands of pornographic and erotic images," that she repeatedly lied about her activities when questioned by administrators, and that she subjected Lincoln Unified to worldwide embarrassment when the story went viral on the Internet. "If you were to Google her name today, you would find there are still over 10,000 live hits," Sacks said, adding that Kaeslin "set an appalling example for a teacher" and that her character is "so fundamentally flawed" she cannot return to the classroom. |