Lynn conditionally approved to be released to house arrest

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
Inquirer Staff Writer

After five nights of solitary confinement at Philadelphia’s largest prison, Msgr. William J. Lynn has hope for a brief respite before he is sentenced to up to seven years for his role in the Catholic Church sex-abuse case.

Following an often-tense hour-long hearing, Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina on Tuesday conditionally approved releasing the 61-year-old cleric to house arrest at the Northeast Philadelphia home of an in-law until he is sentenced on Aug. 13.

But Sarmina delayed Lynn’s release until a July 5 hearing while lawyers research her questions about options if he were to flee.

Lynn might have to remain at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility even after July 5, prosecutors said, because of an inmate waiting list for the electronic-monitoring ankle bracelets used to ensure that someone on house arrest stays put.

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