Interest Conflict by Probation Officer Alleged : Justice: A woman whose husband beat her seeks $1 million, saying the county employee traded leniency for free legal aid.

A Ventura woman who says she was almost totally blinded in one eye during a beating by her husband has accused a county probation officer of being lenient on her estranged spouse in exchange for free legal services.

The conflict of interest charge against probation officer Christopher Jiron came in a claim filed Oct. 21 by Scarlett O’Casey, whose medical records show evidence of more than 11 broken facial bones and 96% loss of vision to her left eye after a 1988 beating by her husband.

O’Casey’s claim contends that Jiron has not properly enforced her husband’s probation conditions, which require him to pay medical bills resulting from the beating. According to the claim, Woodland Hills attorney Benson J. Goldstein owes O’Casey $2,700 for unpaid bills.

Goldstein, 47, pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of corporal injury to a spouse in 1989 and was put on probation until March, 1992. He denied owing O’Casey any money or being involved in any improper relationship with Jiron.

“There were no legal services asked for and no free legal services rendered,” he said. “. . . What the hell is she talking about?”

Marcia Candler, who worked for eight months as Goldstein’s secretary until July, 1990, said she remembers typing a two- or three-page letter from Goldstein to Jiron, which talked in depth about a land deal.

“It had to do with some kind of real estate property that Chris supposedly sold to somebody,” Candler said. She said she could not produce the letter because it is stored on her computer’s hard disk, which is in the shop.

O’Casey, 48, filed her claim after repeatedly telephoning the county Probation Department, receiving no satisfaction, she said. Most of her bills are for hypnosis or behavioral therapy to treat the pain she describes as an outward pressure from behind her eye, according to copies of the bills.

“I feel that I’m a victim of a conspiracy, and every time I express my feelings . . . they tell me I’m paranoid,” said O’Casey, who is also asking for $1 million in general damages from the county. “They have done absolutely nothing.”

Probation Department policy prohibits Jiron from publicly defending himself, said his supervisor, Karen Staples, who said O’Casey’s charges are not true. Her department has forwarded the claim to the county General Services Agency, which will refer it to a third party administrator, she said.

“Chris has demonstrated himself to be of high integrity and honest,” Staples said. “. . . This type of allegation really seems unlikely to be true.”

Earlier this week, Goldstein said he had paid all but one $546 bill, which he believes her medical insurance should cover. On Friday, he said he had subsequently paid that bill, too, and is current on all bills he has been ordered to pay.

Goldstein said he believes O’Casey may have inflicted the damage to herself while locked in the bathroom for three or four minutes, because he only hit her twice in the face with a flat palm, he said in an interview.

Simi Valley Police Detective Jesse Estrada’s 1988 report says that Goldstein “expressed no remorse” for his actions and told Estrada that O’Casey “deserved what she got.” Goldstein would try “to manipulate (the) system using his legal know-how,” Estrada reported.

More than 600 claims a year are filed against the county, and most are rejected, said Robi Klein, General Services Agency deputy director.

“If it’s legitimate, we’ll pay it,” he said, adding that a claim is a necessary precursor to a lawsuit against the county.