AUBURN – A man is suing the jail where he was awaiting trial on double murder charges, claiming see-through curtains enable women guards to peek at male inmates as they shower.

Gary Gauthier Jr., 25, of Auburn, filed the lawsuit in Androscoggin County Superior Court after a judge at Lewiston’s 8th District Court dismissed the complaint, saying his court had no jurisdiction over tort cases involving the county.

Gauthier, who is representing himself in the civil suit, said Androscoggin County Jail violated his civil rights by allowing women guards to invade his privacy while he showered.

He also claimed:

• He was illegally transported in the middle of the night by county law enforcement with no explanation for the nocturnal trip.

• Jail workers told him he had gotten too many pieces of mail and had held back some to be doled out later.

• Inmates placed in protective custody were housed with the jail’s general population, instead of being segregated.

Gauthier wrote in his complaint that he was “treated unfairly and discriminated against due to the nature of my charges and the speculation of a co-defendant who is also an inmate” at the jail.

He was referring to Thomas Dyer, 21, of Auburn who is awaiting trial with Gauthier in the fatal beatings of John Graffam and James Vining in September 2005. The men’s battered bodies were found last fall near railroad tracks in Lewiston.

Dyer reportedly told police in January that Gauthier played a lead role in beating the men with a baseball bat. A judge has ruled those statements won’t be allowed at the trial.

Gauthier had hoped to split the cases and stand trial on his own. A judge ruled against him.

A trial for the two men is scheduled to open Monday in Androscoggin County Superior Court. Gauthier was being held at Cumberland County Jail, as of Monday.

John Wall is a Portland lawyer hired to represent the jail, which is insured by the Maine County Commissioners Association Risk Pool. The pool represents all 16 Maine counties and will pay for Wall’s legal services.

Wall said his office had taken only a cursory look at Gauthier’s complaint.

“It’s pretty cryptic,” he said. “We’re not sure exactly where he’s coming from in his claims.”

Wall said he hoped to learn more about those claims through the discovery process in which prosecutors and defense lawyers share information.

Malcolm Ulmer, a risk manager for the pool, said suits filed by inmates against the jails holding them are not uncommon. It’s also not unusual for the inmates to represent themselves, he said.

Gauthier is seeking money.

“I feel justice would be best given in the form of monetary compensation,” he wrote.