PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

By David Chang and MaryClaire Dale
Monday, Apr 2, 2012

Defrocked priest Edward Avery began serving a prison sentence on Monday for his alleged role in the Philadelphia Archdiocese sex abuse scandal.

Avery pleaded guilty nearly two weeks ago for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy aback in 1999. He turned himself in to authorities in Center City Monday morning. He is sentenced to two and a half to five years in prison.

According to court documents obtained by NBC10, Avery admitted that in 1999, he “engaged in oral sexual intercourse” with a 10-year-old boy while Avery was a priest at St. Jerome’s Parish in northeast Philadelphia. Avery was 57 at the time.