PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John P. Martin and Joseph A. Slobodzian
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Jurors in the landmark clergy sex abuse trial broke for the day Tuesday after asking more evidence and legal guidance Tuesday as they deliberated charges against two Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests.
Midway through their second full day of deliberations, the panel of seven men and five women sent questions on the scope of child endangerment charges against Msgr. William J. Lynn and Rev. James J. Brennan.
They also requested the evidence file on Brennan, who is accused of trying to rape a 14-year-old boy in 1996.
Specifically, the jurors asked Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina if they needed to conclude that Brennan put other minors at risk besides his alleged victim to convict him of child endangerment. They did, the judge told them after consulting with the lawyers.
The question pointed to what has long been a contentious and tangled issue in cases involving crimes against children: the statute of limitations.
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