Will County Public Defender Sued, Accused Of Sexual Harassment By 2 Attorneys

The Will County Public Defender was accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by two attorneys in his office.

Frank Astrella, the Public Defender since September 2008, was sued in federal court by Assistant Public Defenders Gail Bembnister and Kate Flynn.

Astrella made “sexually derogatory and inappropriate comments in the workplace,” the lawsuit said. Astrella also, “in the presence of” Bembnister, “or at times directed to” her, made sexually suggestive comments about women’s clothing and bodies, and made “lewd and inappropriate comments related to and about sex,” “inquiries into employees’ intimate sexual lives and histories,” and “flirtatious comments to female employees and state’s attorneys,” the suit said.

Flynn witnessed Astrella’s misbehavior, the lawsuit said.

In March 2012, “Bembnister made a written complaint about Defendant Astrella’s sexually harassing and inappropriate behavior, as well as the hostile work environment created by his actions, to Chief Judge (Gerald) Kinney, the then acting Chief Judge of the 12th Judicial District,” the suit said.

“Will County Court Administrator Kurt Sangmeister allegedly conducted an investigation in response to (Bembnister’s) report of sexual harassment and hostile work environment,” the suit said.

The next month, Sangmeister sent Bembnister a letter “confirming that Defendant Astrella ‘did violate office policy and standards regarding acceptable work place behavior’ and (stating) that the Office of the Chief Judge ‘does not condone any form of inappropriate behavior which creates a hostile work environment which certainly occurred in several instances you outlined in your letter,’” the lawsuit said. “The letter went on to state that the Office of the Chief Judge had addressed the allegations with Defendant Astrella and they considered the matter closed.”

While the matter may have been considered “closed,” there appeared to be “no disciplinary action … taken against” Astrella, the suit said.

Astrella then struck back at Bembnister and Flynn by holding them up to “harsher and different disciplinary standards,” subjecting them to “different and more negative terms and conditions of employment,” “ostracizing and isolating (them) and creating an uncomfortable work environment,” “limiting (their) opportunities for advancement by restricting their felony jury trials,” and “moving (their) offices in order to keep an eye on the problem employees,” the lawsuit said.

Bembnister complained to Sangmeister about the alleged retaliation, the lawsuit said, but nothing was done about it.

The following year, in October, Flynn told Astrella and a supervisor she was pregnant, the lawsuit said. This was after Astrella allegedly said “he did not like when assistant public defenders got pregnant and took maternity leave,” told Flynn she “better not get pregnant,” expressed “irritation with the scheduling and case assignment changes that had to be made when an assistant public defender went on maternity leave,” and made “it clear that negative employment actions would result if an assistant public defender was to get pregnant and take her entitled maternity leave.”

The next month, Flynn was transferred to River Valley Justice Center to handle juvenile cases.

“A transfer to River Valley is a well-known punitive assignment that presents little or no chance for advancement within the Will County Public Defender’s Office,” according to the lawsuit, which said Bembnister was sent out there earlier that same year.

Flynn also claimed she was denied appropriate accommodations when she “weaned off seizure medication at the direction of her physicians because she was trying to become pregnant.”

Astrella, who was made the Will County Public Defender after working as an assistant state’s attorney in Kankakee, failed to return a call for comment on the sexual harassment lawsuit.

In addition to Astrella, Will County and the public defender’s office were named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office will defend Astrella in the case. Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office, declined to comment on pending litigation and said he had yet to see the lawsuit.

Will County Chief Judge Richard Schoenstedt also said he had yet to see the federal lawsuit. Judge Schoenstedt did not foresee the legal action disrupting the criminal justice system in Joliet.

“I can’t imagine that it would,” Schoenstedt said. “I don’t see how it could affect day-to-day operations.”

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