ALASKA
Fairbanks News-Miner
By MARY BETH SMETZER, Staff Writer
The attorney representing a woman who says she was sexually abused by a Catholic priest as a child has asked a Nome Superior Court judge to sanction the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese and the Society of Jesus for what he calls the last-minute dumping of evidence.
Attorney Ken Roosa said defense attorneys recently submitted more than 3,000 documents from the diocese long after the deadline to disclose evidence has passed. He also said the Jesuits continue to withhold computer files as the Feb. 27 trial date approaches.
Jane Doe 2 is seeking damages against the Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska and the Jesuits for what she claims is a lack of oversight that allowed her to be abused by the Rev. James E. Poole. Nome Superior Court Judge Ben Esch recently severed Poole from the civil suit because the statute of limitations has passed.
Roosa stated in an affidavit filed Monday with the sanctions motion that the defense e-mailed 2,300 pages of documents to his office over the weekend of Jan. 29 and another 1,196 on Feb. 3.
In addition, Roosa said that a computer expert retained by his client in January discovered 5,963 readable e-mails dating back to 2001, but the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, has only turned over about 600.