ALASKA
KGW
11/03/2005
By MARK THIESSEN / Associated Press
A woman filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming a Jesuit priest used his position as a catechism teacher in Nome nearly four decades ago to sexually harass her.
It's the fifth allegation lodged against the Rev. James Poole, 82, who worked for much of his 40-year career in rural Alaska. Two of the claims have been settled for more than $1 million.
The latest plaintiff, referred to only as Jane Doe 4, is not Catholic but her parents urged the girl — then 7 — to attend catechism classes in either 1968 or 1969 for moral instruction, according to the lawsuit filed in Nome.
The woman claims during her second class, Poole took her into a separate room, placed her on his lap and raised his cassock to expose his genitals, court documents say.