An east Alabama woman is suing a well-known attorney, who is also a former state senator, alleging he sexually assaulted her while she was handcuffed in a Calhoun County Jail visiting room for lawyers and clients.

The lawsuit was filed late Tuesday afternoon in Calhoun County by Hoover attorney Anthony B. Coleman on behalf of a 29-year-old Anniston woman.

The lawsuit accuses 78-year-old Doug Ghee of sexual assault, battery, extortion, intentional inflicting of emotional distress, false imprisonment and wantonness.

It also lists as defendants Ghee’s law firm, Ghee Draper and Alexander, as well as partners Wendy Ghee Draper, Jennifer Ghee Downey, Laura Ghee Alexander, David C. Alexander, and Lindsey Ghee McDaniel.

Ghee launched his law career in 1975 and served in the Alabama Legislature from 1990 through 1998.

Efforts to reach Ghee and his partners for comment were not immediately successful. Efforts to reach the inmate’s lawyer on the criminal cases were also unsuccessful.

The victim in the case is facing four charges of obstruction of justice in Calhoun County, as well as drug, theft and promoting prison contraband charges in St. Clair County.

The Calhoun County Jail has special rooms for attorney visits, which have security cameras that are both monitored in real time by staff and recorded for later review.

During attorney visits, the suit states, inmates are handcuffed and shackled for the entire visit. The attorney visiting rooms are not locked but the hallway is such that someone can’t get back into the jail or the lobby without the hallway door being unlocked by a corrections officer.

The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday afternoon, said Ghee was serving in his role as an appointed public defender when on July 12, he visited with the woman at the jail. She was not his client at that point, and the suit said the meeting ended with a “failed attempt to secure new business” for the law firm.

During that visit, Ghee told the woman he was friends with the judge and assistant district attorney assigned to her cases and because of that, he could get her a better offer than the one that was on the table with her current attorney, the suit alleges.

The offer was contingent on the woman hiring Ghee for $2,500 and “agree to be his sex slave” after she was released from custody, according to the lawsuit.

On that same day, Ghee put $30 on the inmate’s books.

On July 17, Ghee returned to the jail to visit with the woman again. When the meeting was finished, the lawsuit alleges, the attorney grabbed the inmate by the arm and started kissing her.

The inmate pulled back from Ghee, and did not consent to or reciprocate his actions, according to the filing.

The inmate said she was ready to go back to her jail cell and Ghee allegedly responded, “If you want to go home then you are not ready for the visit to end,’’ the suit states, adding he continued to kiss the woman and touched her breasts.

“While handcuffed and shackled, (the inmate) was cornered by defendant Ghee in the small attorney visiting room and he then placed his hand around her throat while groping her again,’’ the suit contends.

“In an act of heroism, a corrections officer from the Calhoun County Jail interrupted this exceedingly egregious physical and mental abuse, removed (the inmate) from the room and then locked defendant Ghee in the room,’’ the complaint states.

The lawsuit says Ghee’s egregious sexual harassment and other conduct in the case was extreme and outrageous.

The inmate, “was already in a fragile state as she was facing a 15-year sentence.”

“Defendant Ghee raised (the woman’s) hopes of getting a lower sentence but only at the demand for money and to become a sex slave upon release,’’ the woman’s attorney wrote. “Then upon his second visit, he committed sexual assault, battery, and false imprisonment on her while she was chained and shackled.”

Coleman said his client has had to seek treatment and counseling as a result of the severe emotional distress.

After the alleged incidents, Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Presiding Judge Shannon Page issued an administrative order barring Ghee from being assigned to indigent defense cases.

The order does not apply to cases in which Ghee is acting as retained counsel.

The Seventh Judicial Circuit covers Calhoun and Cleburne counties.

Additionally, the order gives judges permission to remove themselves from any of Ghee’s current cases. Four judges have recused themselves from all of Ghee’s cases – Judge Page, Judge Jennifer Weems, Judge Tom Wright, and Judge Tim Burgess.

The order did not give a reason for Ghee’s removal from the appointment list, and Page has said he couldn’t further discuss the issue at this point.

The order was issued in late July.

Also in late July, Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade confirmed that an investigation is underway into an alleged incident in the Calhoun County Jail involving an attorney and a female inmate.

Wade said he could not identify the attorney, but said the investigation is ongoing by the sheriff’s office and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.

“Until the investigation is completed, we are unable to discuss the circumstances,’’ Wade said. “As sheriff, I am committed to find the truth and pursuing justice.”

The sheriff said the case has expanded to include “a large amount of digital evidence and multiple individuals.”

“This takes time,’’ Wade said. “As sheriff, I stand for justice and righteousness.”

“We will find the truth and I will fight for those who can’t,’’ he said.

Asked to comment on the civil suit, Wade said he could not if the lawsuit was linked to his investigation. Wade, however, said he would welcome the lawsuit so the facts could be brought to light while the criminal investigation is ongoing.

Wade said several complaints have also been made to the Alabama Bar Association. A spokeswoman for the association said those complaints are not available until they are adjudicated.