A woman is suing the Allentown, Penn. diocese, claiming that the diocese actively attempted to discredit when she brought forward claims over Catholic Church sex abuse.

Plaintiff Juliann B. is suing the Allentown Diocese for “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and “defamation,” claiming that church officials gathered false and discrediting information about her in an attempt to discredit her reports of Catholic Church sex abuse occurring in the diocese.

According to an article in The Morning Call, Juliann claimed that Allentown Reverend Francis Fromholzer abused her when she was a teenager. Currently, a grand jury is investigating alleged widespread Catholic Church sex abuse in Pennsylvania and is collecting reports about abuse. Juliann claims that she read a report produced by the grand jury, and discovered that the diocese had made significant efforts to discredit her accusations.

She alleges that Tom Traud, an attorney for the diocese was instrumental in gathering discrediting information about Juliann. The attorney then allegedly shared the information with Bishop Alfred Schlert of the diocese and with other diocese officials.

Juliann notes that in the grand jury report, Traud highlighted that she had worked as a go-go dancer in an attempt to attack her reputation. Additionally, Traud also allegedly suggested that Juliann’s decision to report the abuse she says she suffered was merely evidence of her being a “woman who repeatedly wants her 15 minutes of fame.”

Traud allegedly not only attacked her reputation but that of her family. She says that Traud also attempted to smear her husband’s reputation, and suggested that Juliann had not joined the investigation truly because she had suffered abuse but because she was looking out for her daughter, who was a witness in a separate murder case.

Juliann says that because of the diocese’s attempt to discredit her in the Catholic Church sex abuse report, she felt “beyond devastated, felt betrayed and suffered severe psychological/psychiatric distress.” Reportedly, she was “re-victimized” by the attempt to “smear her name,” The Morning Call reports.

Traud has reportedly served as counsel for the Allentown Diocese since the 1980s. He also served as city solicitor but was reportedly fired from the Allentown City Council because of the information he included in the Catholic Church sex abuse grand jury report.

Speaking to the decision to fire Traud, Councilman Courtney Robinson said that “I do not believe the words attributed to attorney Traud represent anything that I as a citizen or as a member of this body want our attorney or legal adviser to represent,” according to The Morning Call.

According to Juliann, Reverend Fromholzer abused her and her friend in 1964 when the two girls were on a trip to the Poconos. She and her friend were reportedly 13 and 14. Juliann says that after the incident on the trip, Reverend Fromholzer continued to abuse her when she was at school, touching her inappropriately and humiliating her.

In her case against Traud’s alleged attempts to discredit her story, Juliann is reportedly aiming to have the Allentown diocese waive attorney-client privilege which would allow Traud to reveal who instructed him to attempt to discredit her. She also hopes to discover why the diocese did not investigate her Catholic Church sex abuse allegations against Reverend Fromholzer.