A trial is set to begin today in one of 32 priest sex abuse cases filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington since 2002.

Five of the cases have been settled out of court. One has gone to trial.

A former altar boy at Christ the King parish in Burlington claims a priest abused him at the church in the late 1970s.

Of the 32 lawsuits, 19 involve claims the same priest molested altar boys during a six-year stint as parish priest in Rutland, Montpelier and Burlington.

The priest isn't one of the defendants. Rather, the alleged victim says the Diocese is responsible for placing the priest in the churches.

The church says it shouldn't be held liable for the priest's actions.