The suit, brought by John Bollard, charged that Gleeson had asked to masturbate with the young student (among other allegations). Bollard's lawyer was James Wagstaffe.
Bollard, now 44, works at a college in Southern California.
Jesuit officials claim that the allegations were "unsubstantiated." However, America's Catholic bishops adopted a first-ever national policy on clergy sexual misconduct in 2002. That policy pledged "openness" in such cases, and promised that credibly accused priests would be promptly suspended while accusations were investigated.
When SNAP(Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) learned that Gleeson was siting on the board of another Jesuit institution, Wheeling Jesuit University, SNAP issued a statement: "SNAP believes that, in light of this policy, Jesuits and/or the Wheeling Diocese need to be cautious, suspend Gleeson, and launch a probe into Bollard's charges."
Gleeson's fellow board members include William G. Fisher , Fr. Brian O’Donnell, Fr. Gerard Stockhausen, Charleston attorney Rudolph DiTrapano and Fr. Edward Glynn, Dr. Donald Hofreuter, and Lynda C. Wolford, C.P.A., (recently resigned). Other board members can be found at http://www.wju.edu/academics/catalogs/under07_09/Financial%20Information/Directories.pdf
A former Wheeling University president, Fr. Charles L. Currie, has defended the school's decision to keep Gleeson on its board.
According to Jesuit websites, Gleeson has also been affiliated with two Jesuit facilities in Pennsylvania: a retreat center at Wernersville (http://www.jesuitcenter.org/members.htm) and a college in Redding (http://69.7.224.37/donorsreport/board-of-trustees.html).