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Jury has reached a verdict in a sex abuse case involving 2 Philadelphia priests. It will be announced in court at 2 p.m.
A Philadelphia jury has convicted Monsignor William Lynn of one count of endangering the welfare of a child and acquitted him on two others.
The jury said it cannot reach a decision on either of the charges against a second cleric, the Rev. James Brennan.
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/n ... ial--160028155.html
Mixed Verdict in Priest Abuse Trial
Msgr. William Lynn was found GUILTY on one count of endangering the welfare of a child and NOT GUILTY of a second count. He was also found NOT GUILTY of conspiracy. ed rape and one count of child endangerment.
By Maryclaire Dale | Friday, Jun 22, 2012 | Updated 2:34 PM EDTView Comments (0) | Email | Print
A Roman Catholic church official has been convicted of child endangerment but acquitted of conspiracy in a groundbreaking clergy-abuse trial in Philadelphia.
Monsignor William Lynn was found guilty on one count of endangering the welfare of a child. He was also found not guilty on the second count of endangering the welfare of a child and not guilty of one count of conspiracy.
As for Father James Brennan, there is a hung jury on one count of attempted rape and a hung jury for endangering the welfare of a child.
Monsignor William Lynn was the first U.S. church official charged for allegedly helping an archdiocese cover up abuse claims.
Lynn is on leave from the Philadelphia archdiocese, where he served as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004.
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Defense lawyers said Lynn alone tried to document abuse complaints, get priests into treatment and alert the cardinal to the growing crisis. Church documents show therapists had called one accused priest a ticking "time bomb'' and "powder keg.''
Lynn testified that the cardinal was the ultimate authority on what happened to the priests.
Prosecutors argued that Lynn could have called police or quit the job if efforts to help victims were being stymied.
They said the evidence showed a pattern at the archdiocese of lying about why priests were removed, sending them to "company doctors'' at church-run therapy centers and failing to warn new parishes where they were later transferred.
Seven men and five women sat on the jury, along with eight alternates. Many have ties to Catholic schools or parishes, but said they could judge the case fairly. There are about 1.5 million Catholics in the five-county archdiocese. |
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