Trial Involving Priest Abuse Claim...

By Sam Hemingway
Burlington Free Press
January 4, 2013

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20130104/NEWS02/301040022/Trial-involving-priest-abuse-claim-against-state-Catholic-diocese-set-start-next-week?gcheck=1

The specter of a clerical sex abuse trial again is looming for the state’s Roman Catholic diocese, this time involving allegations that a Rutland youth being trained to be an altar boy was molested by the Rev. Edward Paquette in 1974.

The victim, now a resident of California, says he was 12 years old when the incident occurred at Christ the King Church in Rutland, according to court documents. He said Paquette molested him two or three times.

His case, filed in 2010, contends the diocese is to blame for the abuse because it chose to hire Paquette in 1972 knowing he previously had molested boys at parishes in Indiana and Massachusetts.

The victim “hopes to present his case to the jury and believes once the jury has received the evidence, it will render a verdict in his favor,” Jerome O’Neill, the man’s attorney, said Friday. The Burlington Free Press does not publish the names of alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent.

Court papers state the man realized only recently that the alleged abuse and psychological problems he has had were connected. The diocese, in its filings with the court, said the man’s claims should be rejected because the incidents took place decades ago, and he failed to file his lawsuit in a timely way.

The diocese also has maintained it was led to believe Paquette was cured of his aberrant sexual behavior when it hired him.

Diocesan lawyer Tom McCormick did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Paquette, who is elderly and living in Westfield, Mass., is not named as a defendant. He was banished from the diocese in 1978 after parents of altar boys in Burlington complained he had molested their children. He later was defrocked by the Vatican.

Barring a last-minute settlement, the case will mark the first time a Vermont priest sexual abuse lawsuit has been tried in federal court. Four such cases have been tried in state court, three involving claims against Paquette.

In 2010, the diocese paid $17.6 million to settle 26 lawsuits alleging molestation of children by priests; 19 of the lawsuits identified Paquette as the alleged molester. The three Paquette cases that went to trial resulted in multimillion-dollar verdicts that were reduced as part of the 2010 agreement.

The diocese later sold its headquarters on North Avenue and its Camp Holy Cross property in Colchester to help pay the 2010 settlement.

Friday, the diocese sought to have the trial delayed so it could appeal a ruling by U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III rejecting its argument the trial could result in “crippling civil damages” that would threaten the financial viability of the diocese and thus violate constitutional protections regarding freedom of religion.

Sessions rejected the diocese’s claim late Friday afternoon, saying the matter cannot be appealed until the case itself reaches a verdict.

“The issue cannot be resolved separate from the merits of the action,” Sessions wrote.

The case is scheduled to begin with jury selection Tuesday and opening statements Wednesday.

Also, 11 new lawsuits related to allegations of sex abuse by priests are pending in Chittenden County Superior Court in Burlington. Eight name Paquette as the alleged molester.



Contact: shemingway@burlingtonfreepress.com