Date set for appeal of priest’s conviction

Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has set Sept. 17 for oral arguments on the appeal by Msgr. William J. Lynn, convicted last year of child endangerment for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse.
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Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has set Sept. 17 for oral arguments on the appeal by Msgr. William J. Lynn, convicted last year of child endangerment for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse. A letter setting the appeal date was filed Monday by the state’s intermediate appeals court for criminal and civil appeals. The appeals hearing will be held in Philadelphia before a three-judge panel: Judges John T. Bender, Christine L. Donohue and John L. Musmanno. Lynn’s conviction by a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury was a landmark: the first church official criminally charged for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of child sexual abuse. On July 24, 2012, Judge M. Teresa Sarmina sentenced Lynn to three to six years in prison. Lynn is in Waymart state prison in Northeast Pennsylvania. Lynn, 62, was not accused of personally molesting children; his job as Secretary for Clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia required him to investigate allegations against priests and recommend action to the archbishop. The child endangerment count involved a priest with a history of preying on children who Lynn allowed to live in a Northeast Philadelphia parish rectory where he again molested an altar boy. The 11-week trial was hotly contested by lawyers for Lynn, hired by the Archdiocese. Lynn’s attorneys argued that the state child endangerment statute in effect when he was Secretary for Clergy required direct supervision of a child. It was for that reason, Lynn’s lawyers argued, that former District Attorney Lynne Abraham decided not to prosecute Lynn following the scathing 2005 report of a county grand jury. The grand jury blamed Lynn for permitting the continuing sexual abuse of children by deviant priests but said it did not believe he could be prosecuted under the criminal law at that time. Abraham impaneled a second grand jury in 2008, after the child endangerment law was broadened, and in February 2011 her successor, District Attorney Seth Williams, announced the grand jury had recommended charges against Lynn, three priests and a parochial schoolteacher. Lynn’s lawyers again challenged the charges, arguing prosecutors were “trying to have it both ways.” They maintained that the older version of the law still not apply to Lynn and the new version only covered crimes committed after 2007 – three years after Lynn left the post of Secretary for Clergy. But in her April 12 opinion affirming Lynn’s conviction and sentence, Sarmina wrote that, even before it was amended in 2007, the child endangerment was not meant to be limited to personal supervision of a child. Sarmina wrote that the statute could also be read to include a person who “oversaw, managed or had authority over the well-being of children.” Sarmina added that, as district attorney in 2005, Abraham had the legal discretion to choose whether to prosecute Lynn under the child endangerment statute. Since then, the legal debate has continued in appeals filings by Lynn’s lawyers and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. Sarmina also defended her decision to let prosecutors use at trial 20 once-secret church files for priests accused of sexually abusing children. Defense attorneys contended the files were salacious and highly prejudicial; prosecutors argued the files put in context Lynn’s personnel decisions as Secretary for Clergy.
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Date set for appeal of priest’s conviction FILE – In a Tuesday, March 27, 2012 file photo, Monsignor William Lynn leaves the Criminal Justice Center, in Philadelphia. Lynn was the first U.S. church official branded a felon for covering up molestation claims against priests. He´s serving three to six years in prison. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) FILE – In a Tuesday, March 27, 2012 file photo, Monsignor William Lynn leaves the Criminal Justice Center, in Philadelphia. Lynn was the first U.S. church official branded a felon for covering up molestation claims against priests. He’s serving three to six years in prison. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Travel Deals $79 — PA: Historic Lancaster Escape for 2 w/Breakfast See all travel deals » Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writer Last updated: Friday, August 9, 2013, 3:19 PM Posted: Friday, August 9, 2013, 3:16 PM Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has set Sept. 17 for oral arguments on the appeal by Msgr. William J. Lynn, convicted last year of child endangerment for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse. A letter setting the appeal date was filed Monday by the state’s intermediate appeals court for criminal and civil appeals. The appeals hearing will be held in Philadelphia before a three-judge panel: Judges John T. Bender, Christine L. Donohue and John L. Musmanno. Lynn’s conviction by a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury was a landmark: the first church official criminally charged for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of child sexual abuse. On July 24, 2012, Judge M. Teresa Sarmina sentenced Lynn to three to six years in prison. Lynn is in Waymart state prison in Northeast Pennsylvania. Lynn, 62, was not accused of personally molesting children; his job as Secretary for Clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia required him to investigate allegations against priests and recommend action to the archbishop. The child endangerment count involved a priest with a history of preying on children who Lynn allowed to live in a Northeast Philadelphia parish rectory where he again molested an altar boy. The 11-week trial was hotly contested by lawyers for Lynn, hired by the Archdiocese. Lynn’s attorneys argued that the state child endangerment statute in effect when he was Secretary for Clergy required direct supervision of a child. It was for that reason, Lynn’s lawyers argued, that former District Attorney Lynne Abraham decided not to prosecute Lynn following the scathing 2005 report of a county grand jury. The grand jury blamed Lynn for permitting the continuing sexual abuse of children by deviant priests but said it did not believe he could be prosecuted under the criminal law at that time. Abraham impaneled a second grand jury in 2008, after the child endangerment law was broadened, and in February 2011 her successor, District Attorney Seth Williams, announced the grand jury had recommended charges against Lynn, three priests and a parochial schoolteacher. Lynn’s lawyers again challenged the charges, arguing prosecutors were “trying to have it both ways.” They maintained that the older version of the law still not apply to Lynn and the new version only covered crimes committed after 2007 – three years after Lynn left the post of Secretary for Clergy. But in her April 12 opinion affirming Lynn’s conviction and sentence, Sarmina wrote that, even before it was amended in 2007, the child endangerment was not meant to be limited to personal supervision of a child. Sarmina wrote that the statute could also be read to include a person who “oversaw, managed or had authority over the well-being of children.” Sarmina added that, as district attorney in 2005, Abraham had the legal discretion to choose whether to prosecute Lynn under the child endangerment statute. Since then, the legal debate has continued in appeals filings by Lynn’s lawyers and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. Sarmina also defended her decision to let prosecutors use at trial 20 once-secret church files for priests accused of sexually abusing children. Defense attorneys contended the files were salacious and highly prejudicial; prosecutors argued the files put in context Lynn’s personnel decisions as Secretary for Clergy.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130810_Date_set_for_appeal_of_convicted_priest_s_conviction.html#mWvTQQU5e0Z6zuuw.99