Crystal Starnes

The county probation officer who has accused President Judge Thomas Doerr of sexual misconduct has filed an amended civil complaint in federal court revealing her identity.

Crystal Starnes had previously been referred to in court documents only as “Jane Doe.” She filed a civil complaint on Oct. 10 alleging that she and Doerr had been involved in a years-long sexual relationship that began shortly before she was hired as a county probation officer.

Starnes claims that when she ended the liaison with Doerr she was subjected to workplace discrimination from the judge and several other people working in the county court system.

Starnes' lawsuit proceeded under the pseudonym until Nov. 4, when U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Bissoon ordered her to either identify herself in court documents or drop the lawsuit.

Starnes had argued in court documents that requiring her to reveal her identity “could lead to devastating consequences for (her) and her family.” She cited the alleged workplace harassment, vicious reactions online to her claims and her job as a probation officer as reasons why she should be allowed to proceed under a pseudonym.

But Bissoon disagreed, saying in her Nov. 4 order that she was sympathetic to Starnes' concerns, but they weren't sufficient to “outweighs the public's right to access court proceedings.”

“If (Starnes) were permitted to proceed anonymously, defendants would be placed at a disadvantage, for (they) would be required to defend (themselves) publicly while (Starnes) could make her accusations from behind 'a cloak of anonymity,'” Bissoon's order states, in part.

Named defendants in Starnes' lawsuit include Doerr; Thomas Holman, county court administrator; Douglas Ritson, county chief probation officer; as well as Butler County Court and the 50th Judicial District.

Starnes' attorney, Edward Olds, did not return a message left seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.