The educator of the children’s home spied on the social worker. He sewed the bug into a stuffed animal

After her discovery the year before last in November, the police planted a camera trap in the room, which the spy revealed after a few days. The teacher was captured in the picture handling the stuffed animal, who later confessed. However, he received no punishment, the police judged the case as a misdemeanor and the authority punished him with a warning. The man is now suing his now-former employer over termination of employment.

The police found a bed bug in the office of the mayor of České Budějovice

Homemade

“It wasn’t a good idea. But it was the last chance to prove to the director my suspicions that there are rumors about me and my family in this office, which then spread around the workplace. I perceived a certain resentment towards my person on the part of the social worker and I had the feeling that she, along with other colleagues, was trying to push me out of here,” the educator told Novinkám. He said he did not intend to use the recordings from the device in any way.

He placed the recording device in the office, where sensitive information is discussed, for example, during inspections by the public prosecutor’s office or where confidential conversations with children and their parents take place. Children’s personal files are also stored here. In addition, access to this office is forbidden to educators and they can only go there in the presence of a social worker or the director of the facility.

According to Novinek’s findings, it was an ordinary bedbug that only turned on when it detected a sound. She could only upload, not send. “She had a record of some capacity. Chances are someone always came for it, downloaded the record from the card and set it up again. The last recording the cops found was only there for a short time. But we don’t know how long the device was there before, and how many hours of conversations it recorded,” said the source, who provided detailed information on the case.

The listening device was found by the staff of the home themselves. “For several months, they suspected that some information that was heard only in the aforementioned office was somehow commented on and hinted at by the educator in various situations. That’s why the office was searched,” added the source, adding that the listening device was carefully sewn into a stuffed dog.

He did not commit any crime

The police finally concluded that the man had not committed a crime and referred the case to the Kašperská Hora Municipal Office as a possible offense against civil coexistence. “It was not possible to prove that he collected information or handled personal data illegally,” the police stated after a two and a half month investigation.

During the interrogation, the educator himself denied that the recording device was in the room for a long time and that he learned anything through it. However, according to the management of the home, it is not clear how long it was placed there.

“We had suspicions for at least three months. We expected that the police, after finding it, would conduct a detailed inspection of the entire building and secure computers where the wiretapping information could be downloaded. None of this happened, the suspected educator was questioned only three weeks after the recording device was discovered,” the source said, adding that the home definitely does not agree to consider the matter as a misdemeanor. “We believe that the actions of the person in question violated the right to privacy and thereby fulfilled the criminal offense of harming the rights of others,” the source believes.

I have not harmed or threatened my employer or his interests in any way

The director of the children’s home, Petra Divišová, did not want to comment on the case and referred to her founder. She only stated that the whole thing is very unpleasant for her and threatens the good reputation of the children’s home.

He got fired

A week after the case was closed, the educator was immediately fired for a particularly egregious breach of duty, which his employer said he committed by trespassing into another employee’s office to plant a listening device.

He began to defend himself against the dismissal through court proceedings. He challenged his dismissal with a lawsuit at the Klato court and wants to go back. He claims he certainly had no intention of harming his employer or any of his colleagues. He allegedly placed the wiretap in the office to find out who was spreading alleged slander about him and his family in the workplace.

The behavior of the educator is incompatible with the activities and mission of the children’s home

According to the lawsuit, which Novinky had the opportunity to study, he allegedly found the recording device in the summer of 2022 hidden behind the hood in the kitchen of his educational group. At first, he said, he thought it was part of a children’s talking toy. Later, he found on the Internet that it was a listening device and thought he could use it. He claims he placed it in the stuffed toy during his weekend shift on November 20, 2022, the day before it was revealed. He unlocked the office with a key he said he found by accident.

The public prosecutor had her house wiretapped

Crime stories

“I didn’t get any records from the facility, and if anything was recorded, I never got a chance to see it. Even if I had obtained some information, I had no intention of using, spreading or abusing it in any way,” the lawsuit states.

The motive was personal

Regarding the motive for his behavior, he mentioned that it was purely personal and not selfish or vindictive. “I did not harm or threaten my employer or his interests in any way,” he defends himself. According to his words, he is aware that he made a mistake and did not act correctly. “However, this action was not of such intensity that there was a reason for the immediate termination of the employment relationship,” argues the educator and pointed to the conclusion of the police, stating that the administrative body only gave him a warning as a punishment for the offense.

His employer is of a completely opposite opinion and wrote in a statement to the lawsuit that the educator threatened the reputation of the children’s home, whose activity is based on discretion, absolute trust and a sense of security for both children and employees.

“These core attributes have been threatened, creating a long-term atmosphere of mistrust and fear. It was released after the termination of the employment relationship with the plaintiff,” states the statement of the home’s management, according to which the educator had been subverting working relationships for a long time and his behavior had elements of arrogance. “Given his behavior when he works with children who trust the authority of the educator, the immediate termination of employment was justified,” added the employer.

The children’s home is managed by its founder, which is the Pilsen Region. Jaroslava Havlíčková, head of the education, youth and sports department of the Regional Office in Plzeň, responded to Novinek’s question: “The behavior of the educator is incompatible with the activities and mission of the children’s home.”