The Diocese of Joliet and Father Nestor Sanchez, a Catholic priest who has served in recent years at Saints Peter and Paul in Naperville and as pastor in small-town parishes including Paxton and Gibson City are now facing a sexual harassment lawsuit filed in connection with Father Sanchez’s assignment at Holy Family Parish on Route 59 in Shorewood.
The lawsuit was filed by a woman who lives in DuPage County and is using the identity of Jane Doe. She was employed by the Diocese of Joliet at Holy Family Catholic Church in Shorewood, according to attorney Melissa Anderson, who filed this week’s lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse on behalf of Frost Pearlman LLC and The Law Offices of Ruth Major.
Fr. Sanchez was assigned to Holy Family in Shorewood from July 2019 through June 2022, before being assigned to other Diocese of Joliet parishes, the lawsuit outlined. The plaintiff began working at Holy Family on Nov. 4, 2019, and “even after being reassigned from Holy Family, Sanchez maintained and exercised authority over plaintiff by initiating text and phone communications regarding work-related matters, directing plaintiff to assist him with tasks despite not being stationed at her parish, dictating when and where spiritual counseling meetings would occur,” the lawsuit states.
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