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	Deliberations Begin in Priest Abuse Trial By Sam Hemingway Burlington Free Press October 7, 2009 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091007/NEWS02/910070308/Deliberations-begin-in-priest-abuse-trial UPDATE: The jury has begun deliberations in the case of a former Burlington altar boy who sued the state's Roman Catholic diocese claiming it was responsible for molestation he suffered at the hands of the Rev. Edward Paquette in the 1970s. The jury started reviewing evidence from the five-day trial just before 2 p.m. The former altar boy, now 44, contends his abuse and subsequent substance abuse could have been avoided had the diocese not sent Paquette, who had molested boys in three states, including Vermont, to the Burlington parish where the abuse at issue occurred. John Evers, a lawyer for the former altar boy, told the jury during closing arguments that the diocese recklessly hired a known child molester and deserved be punished for such a serious mistake. He asked the jury to award his client $10 million or more in damages. "He'll always be someone who was abused by Paquette," Evers said. "He's a member of that club ... He is going to pay dues to be a member of that club for the rest of his life." Diocesan lawyer Kaveh Shahi conceded the diocese made a bad decision to employ Paquette but asked jurors to consider whether the former altar boy might have embellished his story in order to bring his lawsuit. Shahi noted that the former altar boy testified he was 10 when the molestation incidents began, and offered different stories about how old he was when he began to abuse alcohol. "So did he start drinking because of the abuse, or because it was part of his life story," Shahi asked. "Was he just trying to make the facts fit into his story." Shahi also contended the former altar boy waited too long to bring his lawsuit.
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