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	Mo. Man to Face Vt. Sex Charges By Josh O'Gorman Rutland Herald November 25, 2009 http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20091125/NEWS02/911250355/1003/NEWS02 WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Missouri man who court records refer to as a priest will face charges he sexually assaulted a woman in South Royalton. On Nov. 13, three felony charges of lewd and lascivious conduct were filed in White River Junction District Court against Paul J. Cool, 49, of Amity, Mo. The charges allege Cool repeatedly sexually assaulted a woman between 2006 and 2007, when she was between 18 years old and 19 years old. According to affidavits filed with the court, in January, the woman, who was living in Missouri, contacted local police to complain Cool had assaulted her in Vermont years earlier and was starting to do so again. The woman told police Cool is a priest in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which since 2001 has been known as the Community of Christ. Neither Cool's membership in the church nor his position as a priest could not be confirmed at press time. The woman told police that Cool told her God had spoken to him and told him to prepare her for marriage, records state. "All of this that Paul Cool was doing to me was, as (Cool) told me, a testimony from God that (Cool) was supposed to heal me," the woman wrote in her sworn affidavit. "I was pretty confused. Eventually, I was convinced that (Cool) was right and that (Cool) was hearing from God." The woman told police Cool had claimed he was rebuking an evil spirit when he laid his hand on an intimate part of her body, records state. On Nov. 16, Missouri police arrested Cool on a warrant from Vermont. He is also facing charges of lewd-and-lascivious conduct with a child in Middlebury District Court for an alleged incident in Cornwall. No further information was available on those charges Tuesday. Cool will be transported to Vermont to face charges in the future. No court date has been set. Contact: josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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