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	Lawsuit against Church Heading for Closing Arguments Monday Burlington Free Press May 11, 2008 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/NEWS/80510006/1001 A civil trial pitting a former altar boy against the state's Roman Catholic Diocese could go to the jury by Monday afternoon. The plaintiff, now 40 and living in Colorado, said the Rev. Edward Paquette molested him when he served as an altar boy at Christ the King Church in Burlington in the late 1970s. He sued the diocese for putting Paquette into a position to molest him even though the diocese was aware of previous claims of abuse against the priest. The plaintiff's attorney rested his case Friday at Chittenden County Superior Court, and lawyers for the diocese will present its case Monday before closing arguments. Friday, Judge Matthew Katz ruled the jury can consider awarding punitive and compensatory damages to the man. Although the diocese has not yet presented its case, Katz said Thursday that evidence showed that Paquette was a known child sexual abuser before he was hired and was not properly supervised. The Free Press does not identify sexual abuse victims without their consent.
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