PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review
By Adam Smeltz
Published: Friday, Dec. 27, 2013
The reversed conviction of a former Roman Catholic Church official could be a big win for the defense for three former Penn State University executives accused of shielding pedophile Jerry Sandusky, several attorneys said Friday.
“Certainly, the court’s opinion puts a big hole in the commonwealth’s case” against the ex-administrators, said Donna McClelland, a Pittsburgh trial lawyer and former deputy attorney general.
She said the reversal for Monsignor William Lynn, 62, could weaken felony charges of child endangerment against Tim Curley, Gary Schultz and Graham Spanier, but not their related charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and failure to report.
Lynn was the first U.S. church official convicted for the handling of clergy abuse complaints when a Philadelphia jury found him guilty in June 2012. A Superior Court panel on Thursday unanimously rejected prosecution arguments that Lynn was legally accountable for the welfare of an abused boy in the late 1990s.
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