PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog
Ralph Cipriano
A motion to reconsider bail filed in Pennsylvania Superior Court contains a bombshell disclosure — that Father Edward V. Avery passed a polygraph test indicating he had never touched the former 10-year-old altar boy he pleaded guilty to abusing.
Avery pleaded guilty on March 22 to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with the boy, and received a 2 1/2 to five year sentence, even though he told authorities he never even met the boy. The only reason Avery pleaded guilty, according to the motion, was that he was credibly accused by another victim, and that he was offered a good deal by the prosecution. But the deal had one condition, that Avery plead guilty to a conspiracy involving Msgr. William J. Lynn, former Archdiocese of Philadelphia secretary for the clergy. Avery was facing a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted of molesting the boy, and instead he got a sentence of 2 1/2 to 5 years.
The motion was filed Monday by Thomas A. Bergstrom, Allison Khaskelis and Alan J. Tauber, defense lawyers for Msgr. Lynn, the first Catholic administrator in the nation to be convicted for transferring abusive priests from one parish to another. Lynn’s lawyers say they were only recently told about the polygraph test by Avery’s lawyer, so they cite the polygraph as evidence that Lynn should be released on bail. Lynn previously was denied bail by Judge. M. Teresa Sarmina, as well as Superior Court.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.