CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times
Richard Winton
A senior Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Orange sexually assaulted and harassed a female church employee last year at a prominent Irvine parish where he was placed despite a similar prior accusation, according to a lawsuit filed by the woman.
Father Alex Kim is accused by his former assistant of sexually assaulting her several times at St. John Neumann Catholic Church. She alleged in the suit that she felt compelled to take a leave of absence to avoid his attacks.
In July 2016, Kim pushed her against a wall in the rectory “and forcibly kissed, groped and fondled her,” said the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday. Kim then “pulled his genitals out of his pants and rubbed it against” her,” the woman’s complaint alleges. The next day, according to the lawsuit, he sent her “innocuous texts messages as if nothing happened.”
The woman, who is identified only as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, has known Kim since she was a child and described him as once being her spiritual mentor, the suit says.
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