The former city editor for the Beaver County Times filed a federal lawsuit against the newspaper yesterday claiming she was subjected to sex discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment that ultimately led to her termination.

Lori L. DeLauter-Boone, of Brighton, accused executive editor Keith Briscoe of mistreating her from the time he was hired on Dec. 31, 2001.

Mr. Briscoe was removed from his position at the newspaper yesterday, according to several sources within the newspaper. But it was not clear whether his departure was connected to the civil rights lawsuit.

Neither Mr. Briscoe nor publisher Alan Buncher returned phone calls seeking comment.

Ms. DeLauter-Boone, who was nominated during her time there for a Pulitzer Prize for stories she wrote about convicted serial killer Edward Surratt, worked at the newspaper from August 1989 until her termination in January 2008.

She contends that treatment followed "patently false accusations that [she] had an affair with a prior executive editor of the newspaper."

Over the next several years, Ms. DeLauter-Boone, 41, said her management responsibilities were eliminated -- taking her reporting staff from 18 people that she supervised ultimately down to five. Further, she claims that she was not allowed to make management decisions, including what news to cover, and that she was removed from a management bonus program.

"I'd built a great career there -- a lot of success, a talented team of people," she said. "I never stopped believing that things would get better."

But in October 2006, things got worse.

Mr. Briscoe demoted Ms. DeLauter-Boone from city editor to projects director. Two less-qualified men with no equivalent supervisory experience replaced her, the lawsuit said.

During the time she served as projects director, she had no staff, the complaint said, and over time, few projects were assigned to her.

On Jan. 15, 2008, Ms. DeLauter-Boone was notified that she was being fired because her position had been eliminated.

Since her termination, she has been unable to find full-time work in journalism and instead has been doing local freelance work.

"It's horrible," she said. "The industry as a whole is suffering. It just devastated my career."

The lawsuit does not name Mr. Briscoe as a defendant, but does name the newspaper company, Beaver Newspapers Inc., as well as Calkins Media Inc., of Levittown.

Ms. DeLauter-Boone is seeking damages, reinstatement to her former position, and attorney fees and costs.