Frontier Communications, union battle over cable installer fired after plea
By David Wren, The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Frontier -- which provides telecommunications services in 27 states, including the Carolinas -- fired
Cambest initially was charged with solicitation of a minor, which is a felony requiring registration as a sex offender. Under the reduced charge, Cambest paid a
The
An arbitrator in November agreed with the union, ordering Frontier to rehire Cambest and pay him more than a year's worth of back wages. Frontier this month filed a lawsuit in federal court asking a judge to vacate the arbitrator's award.
The incident that led to the union dispute occurred on
A police report details the victim's account, stating that the 8-year-old was sitting on a daybed with her puppy in her lap when Cambest "exposed his privates, rubbing his privates with one hand as he held his shirt up with his other hand." The girl said Cambest did not touch her or say anything to her.
Cambest -- who had no prior criminal record -- was arrested on
Cambest, during an interview with police after his arrest, denied that he exposed himself to the girl. Cambest "was adamant that he has numerous customers and cannot remember every service call, however he remembered with explicit detail the layout of the residence, the child's mannerism and location during the incident as well as the entire incident and this interview was conducted approximately two weeks after the incident," the police report states.
Cambest "stated that he did use his shirt numerous times to wipe his brow and lifted the shirt up and that he did adjust his pants several times" but did not believe he exposed himself to the girl, the report states.
"The girl had moved past the event and if we went to trial, she was going to have to relive it," said Lively, who now is senior resource attorney at the
Lively called the incident a "tough, tough case" because she would have had to prove Cambest's intent during a trial, and it was not entirely clear that the solicitation charge would stick.
"We all felt like something inappropriate happened, but could I prove it beyond a reasonable doubt?" Lively said, adding that the reduced charge "doesn't change the facts that something happened in that bedroom with that child."
Cambest said in court and during his arbitration hearing that nothing happened that day. In evidence entered during the arbitrator's hearing, Cambest said he simply agreed to the Alford plea because his lawyer told him it could take three or four years before his case came to trial. And while Cambest said he was confident of winning, he knew there was the possibility that a jury could find him guilty of the serious felony charge.
The charge was "a cloud over him and he wanted to finish the matter,"
According to the arbitrator's report, Cambest said he also failed to understand the consequences of entering an Alford plea.
Court records show the judge at the hearing told Cambest the Alford plea was "admitting guilt not because he committed the crime but rather because he was accepting a concession of the state to charge a lesser offense . . . " Cambest said he never was told by company officials that he would lost his job if he entered such a plea.
During the arbitration hearing, the union argued that Frontier failed to prove that Cambest was a liability to the company, which was the stated reason for his termination.
Cambest "was never written up for violating company rules or regulations and he was not warned that he would be terminated if he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge," the union stated, adding that other employees were not fired when they were found guilty of misdemeanor crimes such as traffic violations or driving under the influence.
"This is a type of case that could have serious consequences for [Cambest's] future employability and to his reputation," Wheeler stated in his ruling.
"The company has strong grounds for discipline of employees who go into customers' homes if they act improperly toward the members of the family, especially the children," Wheeler stated. "However ... in the present case, in light of all the evidence, it has not been shown by clear and convincing evidence that [Cambest] committed actions that are just cause for discharge."
Frontier, in its lawsuit, says Wheeler's ruling is a violation of "well-established public policy of protecting children from indecent treatment by adults." The company added that it will have no choice but to rehire Cambest unless a federal judge vacates Wheeler's ruling.
While it doesn't impact the charge or type of sentence, Lively said she thinks crimes committed by on-duty service workers are particularly egregious because of the violation of trust. Lively recalled another case she prosecuted in which
"These people are going into people's homes, so I was concerned about that," Lively said. "It's not as if a total stranger did this or someone in your neighborhood who you don't know. This is someone that you've brought into your home."
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