COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A woman has filed a lawsuit against Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris and the county government, alleging that Norris defamed her at a campaign event. Norris has denied the allegations.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in district court by Coeur d’Alene resident Pennie Collinson, alleges that Norris made vulgar sexual remarks about Collinson to a crowd of people at an April 24 candidate forum in Cataldo. The lawsuit accuses Norris of allegedly saying that Collinson, who was present at the forum, likes to “photograph child pornography at the local library.”
Included in the civil complaint were statements from several people who attended the forum and supported Collinson’s description of what happened.
The witnesses alleged that Norris described to the audience how he had removed several books from the Post Falls Public Library last fall that he said contained sexually explicit material. He then allegedly pointed out Collinson in the crowd, called her by name and made vulgar sexual remarks about her.
“I was in shock and was feeling so confused because I just could not understand what was happening,” Jennifer Noel wrote in a statement filed with the lawsuit. “The room seemed to gasp in unison and then the room briefly went dead quiet.”
Norris vehemently denied the allegations Wednesday and suggested the lawsuit is politically motivated.
“The claims are 100% false and are nothing more than local-level lawfare to create doubt and uncertainty regarding my character and reputation,” he said in a statement issued by the sheriff’s office. “In my 30-plus years of impeccable public service, I’ve never been accused of any wrongdoing, corruption or sexual harassment until I decided to run for public office.”
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