PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Boston Globe
By Steven Yaccino | NEW YORK TIMES DECEMBER 27, 2013
NEW YORK — A Pennsylvania appeals court on Thursday overturned the child-endangerment conviction of a Roman Catholic official, upending a landmark court case that had found a senior church member guilty of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision.
The unanimous decision by the Superior Court in Pennsylvania dismissed the criminal case against Monsignor William J. Lynn, who had been sentenced to three to six years.
In the ruling, state Superior Court judges said there was not sufficient evidence to prove that Lynn, 62, had intended to “promote or facilitate” acts of child endangerment, and they ordered his release from prison.
The Philadelphia district attorney, R. Seth Williams, said Thursday that he strongly disagreed with the decision and planned to appeal. ‘‘Because we will be appealing, the conviction still stands for now, and the defendant cannot be lawfully released until the end of the process,’’ Williams said.
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