Jan. 17--The Knox County Emergency Management Agency director has been fired, and a federal lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment is pending.
Brian Hess, who had been with the county since 2008, was fired by the county EMA board on Friday. County officials did not say yesterday whether the harassment claims were related to his firing.
Commissioner Allen Stockberger, a member of the EMA board, confirmed that Hess was fired but declined to elaborate. Stockberger referred questions to Assistant Prosecutor Chip McConville, who did not return a message.
Six women who work or worked in the 911 dispatching center filed a federal suit against Hess in July, accusing him of sexually harassing employees. The suit also says county officials did not respond properly when they were told about the harassment.
Also named in the suit are the Knox County commissioners, Sheriff David Barber, members of the 911 and EMA boards and the law firm that conducted an initial investigation into Hess' behavior in 2010.
The attorney representing the six women, William Curphey, said Hess was engaging in "high-school locker room high jinks," including rubbing his crotch on their backs, going through their purses and pretending to unzip his pants in front of employees.
Curphey said the women -- Nicole Crabtree, Donna Durbin, Leslie Orr, Lisa Pay, Lisa Smith and Patricia Steward -- complained to the 911 board, the sheriff, county attorneys and the commissioners.
In a response filed in federal court, the county denied nearly all of the charges and said none of the women followed proper procedures in filing a discrimination complaint against Hess or the commissioners.
The county admitted Hess did engage in some behavior, such as rubbing his nipples over his shirt in a joking manner. He and another EMA employee also printed pictures of scantily clad firefighters and posted them in the office of the former deputy director.
The women complained to the county in December 2010 about Hess' behavior. Officials responded by placing him on administrative leave and later suspended him for an unspecified time, the county said in its response.
Hess also was required to undergo training, including mentoring sessions with the sheriff, and a harassment policy was implemented.
The attorney for Hess and the other defendants, Maribeth Deavers, did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Curphey said the women primarily wanted Hess fired. They do not specify damages sought in the suit beyond $75,000 each in compensatory damages
"Now that the guy's been fired doesn't mean the damage hasn't been done," Curphey said.
Hess' firing came three months after Delaware County's 911 director, Bob Greenlaw, retired amid findings by a county-paid investigator that he created a sexually hostile workplace. The three women whose complaints sparked the investigation still have a case pending with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
