BishopAccountability.org
	Judge Undecided on Evidence in Diocese Trial By Sam Hemingway Burlington Free Press September 24, 2009 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090924/NEWS02/909240310/Judge-undecided-on-evidence-in-diocese-trial Judge Helen Toor said Wednesday that she is undecided about whether jurors at an upcoming priest molestation trial in Burlington should be shown evidence that the Rev. Edward Paquette molested boys in other states before coming to Vermont. The evidence includes documents from Roman Catholic dioceses in Massachusetts and Indiana that detailed Paquette's sexual abuse of altar boys and efforts to address his misconduct. Lawyers for alleged Paquette victims in Vermont have used the documents as proof the Vermont diocese was negligent when it hired Paquette, saying it failed to thoroughly check out his background although it had knowledge of his misconduct. Toor, at a pre-trial hearing Wednesday at Chittenden Superior Court, said it was not clear to her that the Vermont diocese was to blame for not obtaining the additional documents. "I'm weighing the probative value and the prejudicial impact," she said. "It brings up a lot of collateral matters. I find it to be a hard issue." At one point, Toor appeared to make a reference to the case of ex-Morristown schoolteacher Shaun Bryer, alluding to "recent articles in the paper" during a discussion with lawyers about what an employer can reasonably be expected to do when hiring someone. Bryer, arraigned last week on charges he molested two boys in Morristown, was placed on leave in Morristown this spring amid concerns about his behavior with students, but the concerns were not shared with the Colchester school system when it hired Bryer this summer. There is no evidence, however, that Morristown officials knew Bryer was actually molesting the two boys. In Paquette's case, the state diocese did have information that Paquette had molested boys before arriving in Vermont but did not pursue documents from the Indiana diocese that revealed the extent of the misconduct. Toor acknowledged at the hearing that she had not yet reviewed the documents in question, but said she planned to do so before the upcoming trial begins next week. "I don't know at this point what is in the documents," she said in putting off a ruling on the matter. "I'm just not comfortable ruling in a vacuum." Toor recently did rule that she would not permit evidence about other church priests accused of sexually abusing children to be introduced at the upcoming trial. The case involves claims by a former Burlington altar boy that Paquette molested him at Christ the King Church and that the diocese was to blame because it knew Paquette was a child molester when it hired him. Later at the hearing, Toor turned aside a request by a lawyer for Monsignor John McSweeney that McSweeney not be required to testify in person at next week's trial. McSweeney, who was the diocesan chancellor when Paquette was hired in 1972, is elderly and has medical problems, McSweeney's lawyer, Joseph Farnham, told Toor. Farnham suggested the court use a recent video-taped deposition of McSweeney instead. Jerome O'Neill, a lawyer for the former altar boy, said McSweeney was the only person still alive with a direct role in Paquette's hiring and ought to be required to testify in person. O'Neill noted that McSweeney, on vacation in Ireland, was healthy enough to travel overseas. Toor ordered that McSweeney appear at the trial, but agreed to let him have a day to rest up after he returns from Ireland next week before he has to testify. Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or e-mail at shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com. To have Free Press headlines delivered free to your e-mail, sign up at www.burlingtonfreepress.com/newsletters.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.