Kentucky House Speaker Jeff Hoover has reached a confidential settlement over sexual harassment allegations by a woman who works on his legislative staff, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke with Courier Journal.

Hoover, the leader of the powerful Republican majority in the House of Representatives, reached the agreement last week after receiving a demand letter from the woman’s lawyer over allegations that date to 2016, the sources said, speaking under the condition they remain unnamed because they fear reprisal if identified.

Courier Journal has not seen terms of the settlement, which was handled outside of court, and Hoover declined to discuss the matter Wednesday.

Watch this:Jeff Hoover condemned how Dem handled a 2013 sex harassment case

“No comment,” he said.

The woman, whom Courier Journal is not identifying because she says she’s the victim of sexual harassment, said “I have no comment” when a reporter spoke to her at her home.

Hoover’s lawyer, Leslie Vose of Lexington, did not respond to a request for comment.

Thomas Clay, the Louisville lawyer sources say represents the woman who alleged harassment, declined to comment.

Clay is known as an aggressive litigator with a number of high-profile cases in recent years, including winning a $400,000 settlement in 2015 on behalf of three women who worked at the state Legislative Research Commission, which provides staff to legislators. The settlement was related to a sexual harassment scandal involving Kentucky House Democrats.

More on Hoover:Kentucky pension reform: Changes likely to Bevin's plan, GOP leaders predict

More:House Speaker says pension reform plan will be met with 'sigh of relief' when released

Vose represented the Legislative Research Commission in that case.

The allegations of sexual harassment settlement surfaced this week when someone using an anonymous Twitter account began posting about it.

“Why is #familyman @KYHoover trying to conceal details of his sexual harassment settlement?” one tweet said.

The Twitter account is under the name Jeff S. Hoover, “Speaker of the Blouse of Representatives,” and describes itself as a “parody.”

Hoover also declined to comment about the Twitter account when Courier Journal asked him about it Wednesday.

According to copies of text messages provided to Courier Journal, and referenced in the demand letter, Hoover and the woman engaged in sexually suggestive banter, with the woman occasionally being asked to send photos of herself.

The texts date to March 2016, when Hoover was still minority leader.

Courier Journal sources say the woman engaged in the suggestive text exchanges initially because another legislative staffer told her she needed to keep Hoover happy to advance in her career. After re-evaluating the nature of the relationship, the woman came to believe it was harassment and created a hostile work environment, the sources said.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says sexual harassment in the workplace can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.

The harasser can be a victim’s supervisor, and harassment occurs when the behavior creates a hostile or offensive work environment or the threat or act of demotion or firing.

Images of the texts referenced in the demand letter detailed some of the exchanges. They were provided to Courier Journal by one source who said they were between the woman and Hoover, and attested to by two others who were familiar with their content.

“If you decided to send a photo of the black lace g string, I won’t share. For my eyes only,” reads one text sent to the woman.

After she tweeted a photo, a response from a contact identified on screen as Jeff says, “Wow. Long hair is nice but covered up great parts.”

She responds, “Oh yeah?”

It’s unclear from the exchange what happened next. But the reply says, “Very Nice!! Thanks for sharing. Delete before somebody sees it.”

On another occasion, Jeff turns down the woman’s offer to come over: “You know I want to but I can’t. I just can’t for either of us. But if you have photos to share, you can.”

Throughout the texting, Jeff expresses concern about the relationship, particularly the fact that the woman worked for him.

“Would you come over if you weren’t my boss?” she asks at one point.

“Duh,” is the response.

Another time, following an event they both attended, they engaged in more banter. “My phone was in seat between my legs. You texted and it vibrated. Shew,” Jeff allegedly texted.

Some of the same text messages obtained by Courier Journal were also posted on the parody Twitter account, @SpeakerJHoover.

See also:Metro Council Court accepts Dan Johnson's plea to be censured rather than be removed

More:Louisville Councilman Dan Johnson's sexual harassment allegations: A timeline

On Wednesday, Hoover’s chief of staff declined to respond to questions from Courier Journal and directed the questions to the head of the Legislative Research Commission.

Allegations about Hoover come as a spate of other figures are being brought down by claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault, including famed movie producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, author Mark Halperin and NPR's senior vice president for news, Michael Oreskes.

Hoover, of Jamestown, was elected House speaker late last year after Republicans swept into power in the chamber for the first time in nearly 100 years. According to his Twitter bio, Hoover describes himself as a husband and a “sinner saved by God’s grace.”

In the 2015 settlement related to sexual harassment at the statehouse, three women reported harassment by male Democrats who then held the majority in the House.

Two women alleged in one lawsuit that they had been subjected for years to unwanted touching and inappropriate comments by Rep. John Arnold, a Union County Democrat.

Arnold denied the allegations but resigned in 2014 when the allegations became public. The Legislative Ethics Commission later found him guilty of violating the legislature’s code of ethics.

A second lawsuit was filed by another woman employed by the Legislative Research Commission who alleged she suffered retaliation after confronting Rep. Will Coursey, a Symsonia Democrat, about alleged sexual harassment of female interns and employees. Coursey denied the allegations and is still in office.

Reporter Deborah Yetter can be reached at 502-582-4228 or dyetter@courier-journal.com. Reporters Tom Loftus and Darcy Costello contributed to this report.