Vermont Daily News
September 29, 2009
http://vermontdailynews.com/2009/09/abused-altar-boy-case-against-diocese-gets-underway/
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| Attorney John Evers questions potential jurors in Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington, Vt., Monday, Sept.28, at the start of a case to determine if the Roman Catholic Diocese is responsible for sexual abuse by now de-frocked priest Rev. Ed Paquette, 80, of Westfield, Massachusetts. (Vermont Daily News photo) |
Burlington, Vt. – Jury selection got underway today in Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington, Vt., where a sexually-abused, former altar boy seeks damages from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The court, presided over by the Honorable Judge Helen Toor, will determine over the next 7 days if the Diocese is legally responsible for abuses to the former altar boy by defrocked priest Edward Paquette, 80, now of Westfield, Mass.
The court has placed over 12 million in liens on the assets of the church which faces more than 20 additional lawsuits stemming from sexual abuses by its priests during a time period about thirty years ago.
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| Attorney Kaveh S. Shahi, for the Roman Catholic Diocese, listens as Attorney John Evers questions potential jurors in Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington, Vt., Monday, Sept.28, at the start of a case to determine if the Roman Catholic Diocese is responsible for numerous incidents of sexual abuse of altar boys by Rev. Paquette while he was a priest. (Vermont Daily News photo) |
During the selection process in the morning, Judge Toor reminded potential jurors of their task this week regarding the case, “the question is whether the diocese is legally responsible for that,” after she explained that there was no question in this case that the abuses had occurred.
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