A jury that heard the case of a former Derby man who blamed the Diocese of Burlington for a priest who allegedly molested him 30 years ago says he should have filed his claim sooner.
The jury in Chittenden County Superior Court delivered a mixed verdict yesterday in the case of 47-year-old James Turner, saying the Diocese failed to adequately supervise since-defrocked priest Alfred Willis and awarding Turner $15,000 dollars in damages.
But it said he filed suit six years too late.
Turner sued the Diocese in 2004 over a 1977 incident in which Willis allegedly performed a sex act on him as he slept in a Latham, New York motel room with six other other people.
His lawyer lashed out at the church after the jury reached its verdict last night, saying that church lawyers were mean-spirited in the way they defended the case.
Still unclear is whether the Diocese will end up paying the $15,000.