PENNSYLVANIA
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Jul. 26, 2016
A decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Tuesday opened the door for Msgr. William Lynn to exit state prison as he awaits a new trial for his role in the supervision of a sexually abusive priest of the Philadelphia archdiocese.
The state Supreme Court rejected a petition from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review an appeal court’s overturning of Lynn’s 2012 conviction for endangering the welfare of a child. Lynn, the archdiocesan secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, was the first U.S. church official convicted for his handling of sexual abuse allegations.
In December, a three-judge Superior Court panel vacated the conviction and ordered a new trial after it found the trial court “abused its discretion” by allowing the prosecution to enter as evidence 21 supplemental cases of sexual abuse — some dating back to 1948, or three years before Lynn was born.
The Superior Court ruling was the second time in two years it reversed the priest’s conviction. A week later, Philadelphia District Attorney R. Seth Williams appealed that ruling, which the state Supreme Court denied Tuesday.
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