BishopAccountability.org
	Lawyer Demands More Records in Priest Abuse Case By Sam Hemingway Burlington Free Press [Vermont] March 7, 2006 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060307/NEWS01/603070312/1009&theme= An attorney investigating claims of past child sex abuse involving Catholic clergy in Vermont has asked a Chittenden Superior Court judge for permission to review the personnel records of 20 current or retired diocesan priests. Jerome O'Neill, a lawyer representing 15 men who claim they were molested by priests as boys, told Judge Ben Joseph during a court hearing Monday that he needs to see the records to understand how the diocese dealt with reports of priest sexual misconduct. O'Neill said his request includes reports of consensual sex between a priest and adults. "We want to see all the records," O'Neill told Joseph. The list of 20 priests that were the subject of O'Neill's request include at least three of the six priests the diocese placed on administrative leave in 2002 after an investigation by the state Attorney General's Office alleged they had engaged in sexual misconduct. Lawyers representing the diocese and clergy members objected to O'Neill's request, saying it was too broad. Attorney Thomas McCormick, representing a priest identified in court records only as "Reverend X," told Joseph the request was "wildly outside the purview" of what should be disclosed to O'Neill. Joseph, who said he will issue separate sealed orders this week for each of the 20 priests O'Neill was inquiring about, told the lawyers Monday he was inclined to let O'Neill see all diocesan personnel records concerning sexual misconduct except those involving consensual contact between priests and adults. Joseph said he remains committed to convening a trial in the first of the 15 cases April 19. In that case, a South Burlington man has alleged that the Rev. Ed Paquette molested him in 1977 and 1978 when the man was a pre-teen altar boy at Christ the King Catholic Church in Burlington. Diocesan records in Massachusetts and elsewhere show that Paquette had a history of molesting boys at parishes there before he was transferred to Vermont. A majority of the cases brought by O'Neill involve claims of sexual abuse of boys by Paquette. Paquette, who is retired and lives in Westfield, Mass., has denied the allegations. Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or e-mail at shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
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