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	Priest Sex Abuse Case Readied for Jury Verdict By Sam Hemingway Burlington Free Press December 1, 2007 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/NEWS01/712010308/1009&theme= A Vermont judge who once was the Chittenden County State's Attorney testified Friday on behalf of the state's Roman Catholic diocese in the case of a man who claims the church is at fault for his molestation by a priest in 1977. Judge Mark Keller took the stand Friday morning to challenge claims by a former assistant prosecutor that the late Bishop John Marshall used undue pressure in 1980 to derail a potential criminal child sex abuse charge against the priest, Alfred Willis. According to James Turner, 47, of Virginia Beach, Va., Willis performed a sex act upon him during the night at a Latham, N.Y., motel room after a religious ceremony for Turner's brother, who was about to become a priest. Susan Via, once an assistant prosecutor in Keller's office, told the jury in videotaped testimony earlier this week that Marshall did not want the state to investigate claims Willis molested boys in Milton in 1980 and warned Keller he would commit the "sin of scandal" by pursuing the matter. "The first time I ever heard that term 'sin of scandal' was when I was contacted by one of the lawyers about this case," Keller said. "I don't recall ever hearing the term 'sin of scandal' before." Turner's lawyers have argued that Via's recollection is evidence of the lengths the diocese would go to cover up sexual misconduct by Willis and other priests. The diocese has claimed Via's story is untrue and that it banished Willis from the priesthood in 1981. Keller said he remembered the meeting about Willis with diocesan officials, but could not recall whether Marshall was at the meeting. Norman Blais, who was a deputy prosecutor under Keller, testified Friday he did remember Marshall's being at the meeting but, like Keller, had no memory of the "sin of scandal" remark. Keller's office ultimately did not pursue a criminal investigation into the Milton molestation claims. The testimony by Keller and Blais came as the diocese put on its defense in the case. Diocesan lawyers have said the church had no prior knowledge that Willis was a child sex predator. They also claim Turner knew what the impact of the abuse was long ago and waited too long to file his case. Under the statute of limitations, a person has a limited time to file a civil lawsuit in such matters. Turner has acknowledged he told his brother and mother about the abuse in 1981 but said he did not understand its impact on his life until after 2002. Diocesan lawyers claim he also told a former wife about it in the 1990s. Late Friday afternoon, the diocese finished presenting its evidence. Judge Matthew Katz sent the jury home for the weekend and scheduled closing arguments in the case for Tuesday morning. Katz, meeting with lawyers after the jury departed, signaled he would make a decision Monday on the diocese's request to have the case dismissed on the statute of limitations argument, although he indicated he was not inclined to do so. Robyn Bordwine, a former live-in girlfriend of Turner's in Virginia, told the jury Friday that Turner discussed the statute of limitations issue with her in 2004, when he filed his lawsuit after learning another Willis victim had reached an out-of-court settlement in Vermont. "It wasn't right, he clearly fell outside the statute of limitations," Bordwine said. "He had already told me he had told his brother and his mother about the incident a couple of years after the abuse happened." Bordwine also said Turner talked to her about the money he'd get from the lawsuit and about buying a Mustang convertible. She said Turner once suggested she marry him so she wouldn't have to divulge their conversations about the statute of limitations issue. "To me it's dirty money, and I don't want it," she said. As the couple's relationship began to unravel, she said she called church lawyers in Vermont after claiming to have discovered in Turner's legal papers that he had not divulged the 1981 conversations he'd had with his brother and mother about Willis. Jerome O'Neill, Turner's attorney, aggressively attacked Bordwine's story during questioning, noting she had been addicted to prescription drugs during her relationship with Turner and accusing her of going after Turner because "you're a jilted lover." O'Neill had Bordwine read portions of court papers showing that Turner had told the truth about his conversations with his brother and mother. "It may be a misunderstanding, I don't know," Bordwine responded. Later Friday, jurors watched the videotaped testimony of Randall Colker, a Newport News, Va., psychologist who has provided counseling to Turner since 2004. Colker, under questioning by diocesan lawyer David Cleary, said that Turner had divulged during counseling that he was angry with his brother, who was a friend of Willis, about what had happened in the motel room in 1977. "He expressed anger at his brother, 'How could he have let this happen? Why didn't he protect me more?'" Colker said. Colker also said Turner has been unable to remember who was in bed with him at the motel when the molestation took place. Turner has said there were eight friends and family members asleep in the room at the time. "Wouldn't it have been important to know if his brother, Bernard, or Al Willis was in the bed with him?" Cleary asked. "Yes, it probably would be good to know that," Colker said. Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or e-mail at shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
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