The Burlington Free Press reports that "a Burlington jury issued a landmark verdict against the state’s Roman Catholic diocese Tuesday, ordering it to pay $8.7 million in damages to a former Burlington altar boy fondled multiple times by a priest the church knew was a child molester." Notably, "the case was brought in 2005 by a man, now 40 and living in Colorado, who alleged that as an altar boy at Christ the King Church in Burlington he was fondled from 40 to 100 times by the Rev. Edward Paquette between 1976 and 1978. The case, like 18 others alleging similar claims about Paquette, contends the diocese was to blame because it hired Paquette in 1972 despite knowing that he had molested altar boys at parishes in Indiana and Massachusetts, and then kept him on duty after he sexually abused youths in Rutland in 1974." Lawyers for the Diocese argued that "the church relied on the best available advice of church psychologists when it hired Paquette and contended it should not be sued now for misconduct that occurred more than 30 years ago." Bishop Salvatore Matano said that "the size of the verdict could pose serious problems for the diocese." He added the he would "have to look very seriously at what this verdict means [for] the services and the activities of the diocese."

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The Addison County Independent reports that a "group of Middlebury College students [are] hoping to overhaul the college’s sexual assault policy" which is almost twenty years old. The group is "pushing for more preventative approaches to sexual violence and a more extensive support system for students who have experienced it." For example, they are proposing "mandatory attendance [at] a freshman orientation show that [examines] dating, sex and rape on college campuses, implementing a system to anonymously report sexual assaults, [and] hiring a response team that would handle every aspect of a victim’s recovery, including counseling and gathering evidence, should that person choose to press charges." According to the College's Department of Public Safety, the Department received two reports of forcible sex offenses last year and four the year before. "But students say many more incidents go unreported."

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The Rutland Herald reports that "lawmakers spent two years looking at the problem of domestic violence in Vermont and emerged from that process with a new law that advocates [believe] will have short- and long-term reductions in the volume of [domestic violence] cases." The law, passed this year by the Vermont legislature, "boosts the possible jail time attached to domestic assault from 12 months to 18 months"; "makes it a crime to stop someone from accessing emergency services"; and includes an $800,000 appropriation to support "increased services for victims and an outreach program via schools and youth groups aimed at teaching children and teenagers that violence is not an answer to problems."

Vermont by the Numbers
Vermont's "domestic violence crisis hotlines receive nearly 18,000 phone calls each year." In addition, "more than half of all homicides between 1994 and 2004 in the state resulted from domestic violence." Recently, law enforcement officials have observed a cycle of domestic violence in Vermont. According to Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, "Those who have been in the field for years tell me they are now arresting the sons of the people they were arresting 20 years ago."

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Boston.com reports that Vermont and nine other states received "F's in a report examining how forthcoming states are in releasing information about their roles in cases of severe child abuse." The report entitled State Secrecy and Child Deaths in the U.S. found that "most states don't release adequate information about fatal and life-threatening child abuse cases because of policies that put confidentiality above child welfare."

Notably, "Vermont lost points for not having a policy for the release of information about child abuse cases in which the victim suffers near-fatal injuries, and for allowing -- but not requiring -- [the Department of Children and Families (DOF)] to publicly disclose findings or information about cases ending in death." According to the report, "Vermont's policy is 'vague and unclear' in the scope of information that can be released." The document also reported that "child abuse and neglect proceedings in the state are closed to the public."

In response, Steve Dale, head of the Department of Children and Families, defended the state's policies saying that they are "aimed at protecting the identity of survivors who could be publicly humiliated by the release of information about their cases." Sheila Reed, legislative and community advocacy coordinator for Voices for Vermont's Children in Montpelier, added that "it's always a balance between the privacy of individuals, especially in a rural state, where everybody knows everybody." She also believes it is "important for people to see how state systems that protect children are being managed."

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The Times Argus reports that at a summit on internet safety in Montpelier on Monday, "law enforcement officials said that Vermont teenagers are increasingly vulnerable to a criminal element that veils itself behind the anonymity of the virtual world." According to the police, "internet-aided sex crimes have risen dramatically in recent years." For example in 1998, "Vermont police investigated one case involving an online predator" while last year, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force "examined the computers of about 200 suspects charged with a sex offense."

Steve DeBrota, a nationally recognized expert on online predatory techniques, said that "ensuring healthy Internet behavior means becoming involved in children's online lives." De Brota added, "If you want to protect minors, you first have to understand them and how they interact with others in this world. A lot of safety messages have been based on banning access. I don't think that's possible anymore. Now I think we need to empower good choices."

Notably, "Vermont is investing more law-enforcement resources to clamp down on internet predators. A $250,000 federal grant from the Department of Justice will fund three part-time investigators. Much of their time will be spent posing as potential victims, snaring would-be predators who try to arrange illicit meetings with their underage targets."

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