Officer Accused of Misconduct Sues City : Woman Contends Police Had West Hills Home Illegally Searched

A Los Angeles police officer relieved of duty for alleged misconduct filed a $10-million lawsuit against the city Monday, saying police had a civilian illegally search her West Hills home for evidence that she had improper sexual relations with a teen-ager.

Kathleen Oborn, 31, a four-year veteran assigned to a vice unit at Parker Center, was relieved of duty without pay Nov. 5 following an Internal Affairs investigation. It was determined that Oborn had engaged in oral sex with a minor, police said.

The minor, a German exchange student, is now 19 and is married to Oborn, said Stephen Yagman, her attorney. Neither Yagman nor police would disclose the name of the student.

A departmental Board of Rights hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 4.

The suit, filed in U. S. District Court, alleges that Internal Affairs officers had Allyson Di Conti, a civilian, covertly search Oborn’s residence while visiting Oborn on March 27. The suit claims that there was no warrant or probable cause for the search and that it violated Oborn’s constitutional rights against search and seizure.

According to the suit, Di Conti, who formerly had rented a room in Oborn’s home in the 23000 block of Blythe Street, took letters, real-estate deeds, tape recordings and other personal items from the home and turned them over to Internal Affairs officers. The suit contends that the officers wired Di Conti for sound and waited outside in a van while she was inside the home.

“The LAPD illegally made a civilian go into Kathy Oborn’s home and steal things,” Yagman said. “It would have been illegal for even the police to do that themselves. You can’t search someone’s home without a warrant.”

Yagman said there was no basis for the Internal Affairs investigation, which focused on Oborn’s relationship with the German student, who stayed in her home while attending school here. He said Oborn and the student were married in June. Yagman said there was no improper sexual relationship between the two while the student was a minor.

Yagman said the tapes and letters taken by Di Conti were correspondence between Oborn and the student. The suit maintains that Oborn has demanded the return of the items, but Internal Affairs officers have refused, claiming Di Conti was not working for them.

Cmdr. William Booth, spokesman for the Police Department, declined to comment on the allegation of illegal search contained in the lawsuit, but said Oborn’s misconduct involving the student took place before the couple were married and while the student was a minor.

Booth said eight counts of misconduct were filed against Oborn. In addition to the improper-sex count, he said, Oborn was accused of filing false reports of being injured on duty, improperly receiving disability benefits and engaging in employment outside the department without approval.

Oborn’s suit maintains that the Police Department customarily violates officers’ rights. The department claims that administrative investigations are not restricted to the degree of criminal investigations, the suit says.

“Further, there is a leering preoccupation with sexual conduct of female LAPD officers and complaints against female officers generate a leering, inappropriate response,” the suit contends.

In addition to the city, Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, five Internal Affairs officers and Di Conti are named defendants in the suit.

Staff writer Kim Murphy contributed to this story.