FAYETTEVILLE — A Washington County jailer who posed nude for Playboy.com violated departmental policy, Sheriff Tim Helder said Friday.
Now, precisely what to do about Jessie Lunderby’s explicit photos is under reviewed by an attorney.
“We handled our investigation over to an attorney who will look at what we’ve done and make sure that whatever we decide is defendable in the event that there’s litigation down the road,” Helder said. “What we haven’t determined is what discipline, if any, will be carried out.”
Lunderby was placed on administrative leave late last month pending the completion of the investigation. She continues to receive a county paycheck during the leave.
Lunderby’s situation gained attention after the images appeared on the adult website. The three-year employee of the Sheriff’s Office was crowned on June 7 as the Cyber Girl of the Week by the site.
Her plight garnered attention on national news programs and internationally on the internet. The entertainment news and gossip site TMZ.com recently posted a photo, reportedly taken in May, that showed Lunderby posing with Verne Troyer, an actor who played the character Mini-Me in the Austin Powers films. In that photo, Lunderby wore an Air Force hat and an Air Force uniform painted on her nude body.
Los Angeles-based DD Entertainment, a talent management group that’s promoted clients from nude models to Kato Kaelin of the famed O.J. Simpson murder case, counts Lunderby among its clients.
According to company representative Gina Rodriguez, Lunderby is slated to appear at an adult video convention in Chicago later this month. The Exxtacy 2010 convention is featuring the 21-year-old as part of its “Hottest Scandals of 2010 Tour.”
“She’ll be appearing with other girls who’ve been involved in some sort of scandal,” Rodriquez said. “Some of the participants have been mistresses or have been suspended from their jobs, like Jessie.”
Departmental Policy
The policies the Sheriff’s Office investigated included conduct unbecoming of an officer or employee of the department, along with failure to gain permission to work at an off-duty job.
Helder said he wasn’t aware of anyone at the Sheriff’s Office giving Lunderby permission to pose nude. Lunderby has said she informed her employer of her plans and heard no objections.
Lunderby has not accepted multiple requests for interviews, although she has communicated through Facebook that she was agreeable to speaking to a reporter. No interviews, however, have been scheduled.
Helder said he didn’t know when any decisions would be made. He said he’s waiting to hear back from his attorney, Mike Rainwater, a lawyer at Rainwater, Holt & Sexton. Messages left with Rainwater’s secretary weren’t returned Friday.
“I wish I had a time frame,” he said. “We’re trying to be cautious. I know we’re getting a lot of oversight on this.”
Playboy.com describes Lunderby as a “detention officer for a county sheriff ’s department which has her well on … her way to realizing her ambition to be an undercover cop or work for the drug task force.”
Since she was placed on paid administrative leave nearly three weeks ago, Lunderby has made more than $850 from her job at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Helder said he isn’t convinced Lunderby wants to continue her job at the department.
“Based on her recent actions, it appears that we’re the least of her concerns,” he said. “I think that’s part of what we found to be a conduct violation. We’re held to a different standard.”
Reputation Damage
While public scandals often elevate a person’s career in the entertainment industry, Rodriguez said they can also damage a person’s reputation.
“I actually think it hurts them in the beginning,” she said. “A lot of people think they get instant fame, but it’s also hard for a girl because all of a sudden the world knows everything about them. Sometimes people can feel scrutinized. They tend to have a hard time finding people who take them seriously.”
Rodriguez said Lunderby isn’t being paid for her appearances, but DD Entertainment seeks to find her more work by promoting her modeling career.
She said Lunderby has expressed a desire to keep her job at the department, while continuing her career as a nude model.
“She’s always wanted that,” she said. “I know she loves her job at the Sheriff’s Office and wants it back. We’d just have to work around her schedule.”
Helder wouldn’t comment on the details of Lunderby’s potential punishment, which could include a verbal reprimand, suspension or termination. He said he was aware terminating her could result in legal action.
“She made a conscious decision that put me in a position to make this kind of decision,” he said. “There’s the potential for First Amendment freedom. We’ll have to determine if she has the freedom to do what she did and balance that against the organization’s policy and how it effects the organization as a whole. I think it clearly disrupts what we’re trying to do, which is to serve and protect the public, and run a jail.”