CALIFORNIA
Marin Independent Journal
By Tracey Kaplan
tkaplan@mercurynews.com
The judge in the high-profile case of a San Francisco man accused of beating up an elderly Los Gatos priest he claims molested him as a child took a grueling seven hours to hammer out a game plan Tuesday for the upcoming trial that gave both sides reason to rejoice.
For the first time, defendant Will Lynch’s attorney publicly conceded that his client pummeled the Rev. Jerold Lindner two years ago at the Sacred Heart retirement and medical center in Los Gatos. That admission set the parameters for a June 20 trial and should make it easier for prosecutor Vicki Gemetti to prove Lynch committed felony elder abuse and assault.
But in a victory for the defense, Judge David A. Cena ruled that Lynch and up to three other people from a list of about 11 can testify that the Jesuit priest allegedly molested them as kids and threatened them with violence or death if they told anyone. Even though the judge narrowly limited that testimony to avoid inflaming the jury against the priest, it may well have an influence.
“We’re not getting into details because there is a substantial danger of them being misused by the jury, of creating an emotional response,” said Cena, adding that the priest would have to deny he molested anyone for the testimony to come in.
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