PORTLAND – For the third time, a federal magistrate judge has recommended dismissal of a lawsuit by a woman who claimed that she was gang-raped three decades ago at the York County Jail.

Magistrate Judge David Cohen reaffirmed his recommendation for dismissal of the $20 million civil lawsuit filed in 2002 by Kristin Douglas against York County and the York County Sheriff’s Department.

At issue is whether mental illness that Douglas contends she suffers from warrants a waiver of the six-year statute of limitations.

The facts, even when viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, do not show that she consistently suffered from mental illness to warrant the filing of a lawsuit 31 years later, Cohen wrote in his recommendation.

“The defendants are entitled to a judgment as a matter of law because the plaintiff is unable to establish her mental illness continued throughout the relevant period of time,” he wrote.

Douglas was jailed for two weeks in 1971 on a misdemeanor charge when she was 21 and living in Biddeford. Her suit alleges that another prisoner, a trusty who had keys to her cell, let himself and other inmates into her cell and that they gang-raped her repeatedly over several days while jail officials failed to intervene.

The lawsuit seeks $20 million for physical and emotional illness and distress, lost earning capacity, medical bills, loss of enjoyment of life and other damages.

In her lawsuit, Douglas claimed that she already was suffering mental illnesses as a result of an abusive upbringing and that her mental illness continued after her jail ordeal, which left her pregnant. She also claimed she had rape trauma syndrome and an overall inability to function in society.

According to court documents, Douglas has spent six years in prison for stealing a gun and a Jeep, once lived in her vehicle and after release began working as a dental assistant. She received psychological treatment starting in 1982, but had not been a patient in a psychiatric hospital and did not take medication until 1994.

York County attorneys have questioned the extent of Douglas’ alleged problems, noting that she has registered to vote, kept a checking account, attended college, held jobs and paid rent since the rapes allegedly occurred.

Cohen made a similar recommendation in 2003 and also a year ago. The 2004 recommendation, which was affirmed by U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby, was overturned on an appeal to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.