Judge rules sealed document that accuses J.D. Tomlinson of sex discrimination, retaliation is public record (Documents)

A judge ruled that a document connected to a $100,000 settlement between Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson and his former girlfriend/employee — a document that Tomlinson has fought for nearly a year to keep out of public view — is a public record and should be released. In the Oct. 10, 2023 "communication" in question, a copy of which was obtained Tuesday by The Chronicle-Telegram, Jennifer Battistelli accused Tomlinson of sex discrimination, retaliation, and assault, leading to her August 2023 resignation from his office. Read the document: EEOC complaint redacted.pdf Tomlinson paid Battistelli a $100,000 taxpayer-funded settlement after she made allegations against him. He has said the settlement was related to Battistelli being punished for filing a discrimination complaint that his staff later determined to be unfounded. It was Battistelli's former attorney who sent the document to Tomlinson's chief civil prosecutor, Dan Petticord, in October 2023 alleging that Tomlinson discriminated against Battistelli, retaliated against her by having a reprimand placed in her file, then assaulted her in his office on Aug. 15, 2023. Battistelli, who had been working in Tomlinson's office since January 2021 when he took office for his first term as the county's elected prosecutor and had been dating him for almost as long, resigned Aug. 15, 2023. Tomlinson had tried to hide the allegations contained in an Oct. 10, 2023, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Charge of Discrimination complaint by Battistelli for nearly a year, saying they were embarrassing. Appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court to oversee a public records lawsuit filed against Tomlinson seeking to have the documents released, Visiting Judge Thomas Teodosio disagreed and ruled that the document is a public record and should be released. Read the order: Entry_20231002_0001.pdf Tomlinson, a Democrat, is running for re-election against Tony Cillo, a Republican, in November. The document is an email from Battistelli's former attorney, Jack Moran, to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dan Petticord, head of Tomlinson's Civil Division. Petticord, who also is legal counsel to the Lorain County Board of Commissioners, is running for Common Pleas Court judge as a Democrat in November against attorney Giovanna Scaletta-Bremke, a Republican. In the EEOC complaint, Battistelli wrote that she was Tomlinson's director of public relations and community outreach coordinator for approximately two-and-a-half years, and "during my employment, my supervisor, J.D. Tomlinson, pursued and fostered a romantic and sexual relationship with me," she wrote. "Throughout this relationship, I felt that I needed to comply with Tomlinson's desires or else I would lose my job," she wrote. "I arguments over the nature and future of our relationship, Tomlinson indicated to me that he did not view my job as necessary with the county and that I was required to 'do whatever I say you do.'" "As a result, I was the victim of sexual harassment," Battistelli wrote. "Our relationship had been used as a basis to deny me appropriate pay raises or job transfers, as Tomlinson said he wanted to be sure no one had any reason to 'find out' about our relationship." "At various points, I attempted to discontinue the romantic/sexual aspect of this relationship and maintain only an employer-employee dynamic -- most recently, in August 2023," she wrote. "When I did this, Tomlinson became exceedingly upset that I was not communicating with him via telephone and text, and also accused me of 'flirting' with other men." "Tomlinson, directly or through instructions with others, would insist that I always be available to answer his requests and calls," she wrote. While this was happening, Battistelli went to Petticord "to express my concern about race/ethnicity discrimination." She told Petticord that one of Tomlinson's investigators, Garrett "Gary" Longacre, was improperly discriminating against a Latina/Hispanic employee. According to Battistelli, Longacre had resisted hiring the woman and also resisted paying her appropriately "because, in his words, she was 'ghetto.'" Allegedly "forced" to hire her, Longacre "physically segregated her form the other similarly-situated employees in the office performing the same job," Battistelli alleged. This refers to an incident where Battistelli reported to her superiors that a victim advocate in the office had complained about discrimination. Longacre, who was supervising the victim advocates in Tomlinson's office, filed a formal complaint against Battistelli based on her claim to Petticord that Longacre was discriminating against the employee. Petticord, Chief of Staff James Burge, and Chief Investigator Rich Resendez investigated, found there was no discrimination, and Battistelli was instead reprimanded. "In response to my complaint, Longacre, Tomlinson and office employee Jim Burge collectively targeted me by (1) accusing me of filing a "false complaint," (2) preparing a document for my personnel file indicating that my complaint was "untrue," and (3) requiring that I sign a retraction authored by Burge," Battistelli wrote. A letter of discipline allegedly was put in Battistelli's employee file. But no such letter of discipline was included in the file which The Chronicle-Telegram obtained through a public records request last year. Battistelli further alleged that on Aug. 15, 2023, she met with Tomlinson "to discuss my concerns about how his office was reacting to my sincere discrimination complaint." "In anger, Tomlinson yelled at me, grabbed me, and shook me, leaving injuries and bruises," she wrote. "I immediately left the office and resigned my position out of fear for my safety and security, and thus was constructively discharged from my employment in retaliation for raising concerns about discrimination and/or ending my sexual relationship with Tomlinson." Tomlinson has denied striking Battistelli. In a lengthy statement he provided to the newspaper on May 8, Tomlinson said his Civil Division attorneys later found that Battistelli's reprimand shouldn't have happened. "When I refused to intervene in the matter on Ms. Battistelli's behalf" over the discipline she received, Tomlinson wrote, she resigned in August 2023. "I should have intervened. I lost a good employee," Tomlinson wrote in the May 8 statement, praising Battistelli's work. It was after Battistelli's resignation that her attorney sent the Oct. 10, 2023, "communication" and EEOC complaint. Tomlinson alleged that Battistelli didn't make the claim and accused Moran of getting her signature on a blank document and making up the allegations himself. Moran responded by telling Tomlinson to retract that statement and saying he planned to seek legal counsel. "... I would never fabricate a statement or evidence of any kind. I will work with my own counsel to properly address Mr. Tomlinson's statement," Moran wrote in an email to The Chronicle in May. By then, attorney James Barilla sued Tomlinson in February in Common Pleas Court to get public records related to the settlement. Teodosio in June ordered Tomlinson to turn the document over to Barilla and his attorney, Jonathan Rosenbaum, but ruled they could not share it publicly. Teodosio ruled Tuesday that the "communication is a document that meets the broad definition of a record," that Barilla had shown "a clear legal right" to it and that it should be made public "without restriction." Upon the ruling, Rosenbaum provided a copy to The Chronicle. Tomlinson had argued that "not every document received by a public office is a 'record,'" but Ohio public records law should be "construed liberally in favor of broad access," Teodosio wrote in his ruling. The Chronicle had requested the document three times in the past year, but was denied by Petticord, Tomlinson attorney and outside counsel Amy Imbrogno, and then Burge. According to Tomlinson, Moran and Battistelli at first demanded $150,000, but accepted a $100,000 settlement following negotiations. "It is important to note that the final decision to settle the Battistelli matter was made by me," Tomlinson wrote May 8. "Dan Petticord acted in his capacity as my attorney." The county Board of Commissioners OK'd the settlement in October. It was listed as a "requisition" of money by Tomlinson's office, something that the board is required to vote on. "The commissioners relied on my analysis of the claim as the appointing authority when they approved payment of the settlement amount," Tomlinson wrote in May. They didn't make the settlement through the county's insurance plan, the County Risk Sharing Authority or CORSA, a decision for which Tomlinson has been criticized. "I was advised that CORSA may refuse to pay a portion of any judgment rendered or offer of settlement made based on the nature of her claims and the terms of the county's agreement with CORSA," Tomlinson wrote in May, explaining his decision. That could have increased the county's premiums and "I elected to avoid the costly and time-consuming litigation that would have ensued and settled the matter," he said in the May statement. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.