Divided Pa. Court Grants Monsignor William Lynn New Trial in Priest Child-sex Case

By Matt Miller
The PennLive
December 22, 2015

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2015/12/monsignor_william_lynn_deserve.html

Monsignor William Lynn (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Saying his trial was unfairly tainted by evidence outlining the bad acts of others, a divided state Superior Court panel Tuesday ordered a new trial for a Roman Catholic Church official convicted of helping hide the child-sex crimes of priests.

The ruling marks the second time in two years that the Superior Court has overturned the child endangerment convictions and 3- to 6-year prison term for Monsignor William J. Lynn, former secretary for clergy of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

In December 2013, the court voided Lynn's convictions and sentence on grounds that he couldn't be convicted of child endangerment because he didn't directly supervise any of the children who were abused.

The state Supreme Court rejected that decision on appeal this past April, reinstated Lynn's convictions, and then sent the case back to the Superior Court for further consideration. Tuesday's Superior Court ruling ordering a new trial also could be appealed to the state's highest court.

Lynn, now 64, was the secretary of the diocese from 1992 to 2004. Prosecutors said he arranged the transfer of priests who were accused of abusing children under their charge to hide the crimes and shield the church's reputation. A Philadelphia jury convicted him of child endangerment in 2012.

In the Superior Court's 2-1 majority opinion granting the new trial, President Judge Emeritus John Bender concluded the judge who presided over Lynn's trial improperly allowed prosecutors to introduce a "high volume" of evidence of child-sex abuse involving priests that occurred before Lynn's tenure as secretary of the diocese.

Allowing the jurors to hear that evidence might have improperly prejudiced them against Lynn, Bender found.

Superior Court Judge Christine L. Donohue filed a dissenting opinion, arguing that her court should have upheld Lynn's convictions. The evidence that Lynn and his predecessors had concealed child-sex abuse by priests was admissible to show a pattern of protecting the church over protecting the children, she found.

Contact: mmiller@pennlive.com