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	Priest with Fall River Ties at Center of Vt. Sex Abuse Suit By Will Richmond Herald News May 9, 2008 http://www.heraldnews.com/news/local_news/x1874990638/Priest-with-Fall-River-ties-at-center-of-Vt-sex-abuse-suit Burlington, Vt. — A former altar boy is suing the Diocese of Burlington over sexual abuse he says he suffered at the hands of a priest who was removed from the Diocese of Fall River four decades ago over similar allegations. The victim, who was not named by the Associated Press due to the nature of the allegations, claims the Diocese of Burlington is at fault due to negligent supervision of the Rev. Edward O. Paquette. Paquette, who was hired by the Diocese of Burlington despite child molestation allegations lodged against him in Indiana and Massachusetts, is the subject of about 20 pending sex abuse lawsuits against the Diocese of Burlington. Diocese of Fall River spokesman John Kearns said Paquette was ordained as a priest to the Fall River Diocese in 1957. Kearns said complaints of "improper behavior" started coming in to Bishop James L. Connolly. Kearns said that in 1963, the diocese removed Paquette's faculties after a series of evaluations, meaning he could no longer function as a priest. He said at some point in the late 1960s, the Diocese of Fort Wayne, Ind., accepted him "against the strong recommendations of Bishop Connolly to not admit him." Kearns said he had no other information on Paquette following his time with the Diocese of Fall River and was unaware of how he ended up in Vermont. Kearns said Paquette served in several churches in the Fall River Diocesan area, including a short stint in 1963 at Our Lady of Grace in Westport. He said that there have been no other allegations made against Paquette since his removal. The Associated Press reported Paquette is now retired and living in Westfield, Vt. He joined the Vermont Diocese in 1972 and served in parishes in Rutland, Montpelier and Burlington over the following six years. The church moved him from parish to parish as new sexual misconduct allegations arose, according to the plaintiff's attorney Jerome F. O'Neill, who told jurors in his opening statement Monday that the diocese bears responsibility because it knew about previous abuse allegations, hired Paquette anyway and covered up for him once new accusations arose in Vermont. The diocese doesn't dispute the abuse allegations in this case, but contends that the suit was filed too late under Vermont's statute of limitations. Under questioning Thursday, the man told jurors the altar boys serving with Paquette came to nickname him "Father Pockets" — "We always joked about that he had something in his pockets for us," he said. He said Paquette would give him and other altar boys "pony rides," sitting them on his knee and groping them as he pressed them against his genitals. "I never tried to resist," he told the jury. "It wasn't an option at the time. He was a priest. It's like resisting your parents when they're trying to reprimand you. You just don't do it," he said. On cross-examination by diocesan attorney Kaveh Shahi, he acknowledged he always knew that what Paquette did was wrong but never spoke up until after reading about a fellow altar boy's suit in a newspaper. He later contacted O'Neill, who sent him copies of church documents showing that Paquette had been accused of similar conduct elsewhere and that the church knew it. E-mail Will Richmond at wrichmond@heraldnews.com.
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