A Benedictine monk at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting a female employee there, who says she was fired after filing complaints against him last year, according to an article published in The Birmingham News this week.

Kathryn Preston, who was hired to work at the Ave Maria Grotto gift shop in 1994 and later transferred to work in abbey’s gardens, filed a lawsuit in a U.S. Federal Court Dec. 18. In it she says she was repeatedly exposed to unwanted sexual advances from Brother Francis G. Dachs, including “lewd comments” and “numerous unwanted touchings.”

Her lawsuit also makes allegations against the abbey’s executive director, Pete Rice, who fired her in July 2005 — two months after he was hired to manage the Catholic institution.

According to the lawsuit, on May 5, 2006, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a determination that Preston had been exposed to sexual harassment and retaliation for making complaints about it during her time at the abbey.

The EEOC is a five-member commission appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Officials at the abbey had very little to say about the allegations Wednesday.

Rice and Abbott Cletus Meagher, who supervises the monks, did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

While Dachs answered his own telephone Wednesday, he declined to speak to The Times on the matter.

“No comment. Have a blessed day,” he said before hanging up.

It is not clear if Dachs is still fulfilling any duties at the abbey or if any disciplinary actions have been taken against him. Dachs has been at St. Bernard Abbey since 1965, when he transferred from Saint Leo University, a Catholic college in Florida.

While Meagher did not respond to The Times, he did speak with The Birmingham News earlier this week, but only to decline comment on the matter. “It would be inappropriate to say anything,” he is reported to have said.

According to the lawsuit, Meagher was aware of the allegations as early as May 2005, when he reportedly scolded Dachs in a memorandum for violating an order to stop initiating contact with Preston.

“It has come to my attention that you have said things that I would consider inappropriate to other female employees of St. Bernard Abbey,” Meagher reportedly wrote.

Preston’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and reinstatement of lost pay. It also seeks a permanent injunction to prevent the defendant from continuing to violate fair employment practices.