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	Ex-Priest's Abuse Trial Goes to Jury on Monday By Monte Whaley Denver Post March 23, 2007 http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5510238 Fort Collins - A former Fort Collins priest accused of molesting a 17-year-old parishioner was described Friday by prosecutors as a manipulative, sexual predator of young boys. Timothy Joseph Evans, 43, faces two counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in position of trust. The counts stem from two incidents involving the youth while Evans was the priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Fort Collins. Evans' week-long trial ended Friday afternoon with closing arguments from both sides. Jurors will begin deliberations on Monday. Evans' attorney, Joseph Gavaldon, said the priest got involved in horseplay with boys. But he argued that as the "hysteria" surrounding other priest abuse cases grew, alleged victims turned that into a criminal act. Prosecutor Emily Humphrey told the panel that Evans used his lofty stature in the Catholic church to get boys - and their parents - to trust him. "A lot of people put priests on a pedestal, and he (Evans) knew that," Humphrey said. "Ladies and gentlemen, take him off the pedestal." The 17-year-old testified earlier this week that Evans reached around and grabbed his buttocks for up to 20 seconds while at Evans' home in January 1999. Evans also ran his hand down the boy's pants after wrestling him onto a bed in Evans' home in the spring of 1999, the boy said. Four other alleged victims testified during the week that Evans also groped them while he served as a priest in Fort Collins and Jefferson County. At the time of the alleged molestations, the men were either in their teens or early 20s. Gavaldon, argued Friday that the allegations against his client began to snowball after a wave of priest abuse allegations swept the nation in 2002. "Before that happened, all that happened between the father and (the alleged victim) was hugs and horseplay," Gavaldon said. "After that there was a lot of hysteria." Denver Post staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
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