Former youth officer sues employer

Bill Gang

Thursday, Nov. 4, 1999 | 11:04 a.m.

Bill Gang

A District Court lawsuit has been filed by a juvenile probation officer who claims he has been punished for blowing the whistle on a fellow probation officer's alleged sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl he was supervising.

Kevin Niday filed the lawsuit alleging retaliation and racial discrimination as a result of his decision in 1998 to complain to a deputy district attorney about probation officer Tommy Burse after complaints to his immediate supervisor failed to result in action.

Niday, who is white, stated in the lawsuit that he was harassed and denied overtime by his black supervisor because of his actions when black probation officers routinely were permitted overtime.

The lawsuit was filed against the Clark County Family and Youth Department through attorney Richard Segerblom.

Burse, who was terminated, is set to stand trial in February in District Judge Donald Mosley's courtroom on six felony counts of statutory sexual seduction.

At a preliminary hearing earlier this year, the teenager testified about two encounters in June 1998 with her 35-year-old probation officer.

The girl told how Burse had obtained a beeper for her and how she was twice summoned to meet him a short distance from her home.

She testified that for their trysts he took her to the Del Mar Motel, 1411 Las Vegas Blvd. South, which specializes in showing adult videos and renting rooms in three-hour blocks.

Deputy District Attorney Teresa Lowry said that while the encounters were consensual, that is not a defense since Nevada law makes it a crime for an adult to engage in sex with anyone under 16.

Under Nevada law, the age of consent is 16. Sex with a person under 14 is sexual assault.

The Clark County Family and Youth Department did not return telephone calls to comment on the allegations.