PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Msgr. William J. Lynn was sentenced to 3 to 6 years in state prison Tuesday for child endangerment by a judge who said he turned a blind eye while “monsters in clerical garb” sexually abused children and devastated the church and community.
“You knew full well what was right, Monsignor, but you chose wrong,” Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina told him.
The punishment capped a two-hour hearing and a three-month landmark trial, the first for a Catholic church official accused of enabling child-sex abuse. It fell just short of the maximum term that Philadelphia prosecutors sought, but was far more severe than the probation or county jail term that Lynn’s lawyers had argued.
Lynn told the judge that he was sorry for his “failings” during the 12 years he was in charge of managing priests’ assignments and investigating clergy-sex abuse claims for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He repeated his claim that he did his best as clergy secretary,
“But the fact is, my best was not good enough – and for that I’m truly sorry,” he said.
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