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	Jury Expected to Start Deliberations Monday in Priest-Abuse Trial By Sam Hemingway Burlington Free Press May 10, 2008 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080510/NEWS/80510012 The jury is expected to begin deliberations on a verdict by Monday afternoon in the case of a former altar boy seeking damages from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. In the civil trial under way in Chittenden County Superior Court, the former altar boy seeks damages from the diocese for hiring and then putting the Rev. Edward Paquette in a position to abuse him. The man claims he was molested by Paquette at Christ the King Church in Burlington between 40 and 100 times during the late 1970s. The Burlington Free Press does not disclose the identities of alleged victims of sexual crimes without their consent. Tom McCormick, a church lawyer, said Friday the diocese would decide by Monday morning whether to put on any witnesses before resting its case. The two sides are expected to present closing statement Monday and then the jury will begin deliberations. On Friday, a nun who served as principal of a Montpelier Catholic elementary school testified that she witnessed Paquette groping a boy at the school in mid-1970s. Also Friday, five former altar boys testified on behalf of the plaintiff, describing how they were fondled by Paquette during his time as a priest in Vermont. Four were altar boys at Christ the King Church; the fifth was an altar boy at St. Augustine Church in Montpelier. The five are among 19 who have sued the diocese alleging abuse by Paquette, including Michael Gay of South Burlington, who settled his case with the diocese for $965,000 in 2006. When the case does go to the jury, the panel will be given the option of awarding punitive as well as compensatory damages to the plaintiff, the judge in the case ruled late Thursday. "Plaintiff here has presented evidence that this errant priest had an almost 10-year history of molesting young boys, in his role as priest," Judge Matthew Katz wrote. "This diocese had notice of that problem." The diocese does not contest that Paquette molested altar boys in Vermont, but has maintained that its personnel decisions regarding Paquette were based on advice from Catholic psychologists and it should not be blamed now for incidents that took place 30 years ago. The diocese in 1978 took away Paquette's priestly rights after receiving complaints about him from parents at Christ the King School. He is now retired and is not a defendant in the pending case.
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