PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com
by Joseph A. Slobodzian, STAFF WRITER
A Philadelphia judge has set May 1 for the retrial of Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Catholic church official in the nation to be convicted over his supervision of priests accused of sexually abusing children.
Lynn, 65, who was released from state prison Tuesday on $250,000 bail, said nothing during the brief hearing Thursday before Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright.
Unlike previous court appearances in which he dressed in the traditional black suit and white collar of a Roman Catholic clergyman, Lynn entered court in dark slacks and a light blue polo shirt, looking thinner than at his first trial in 2012.
In addition to the new trial date, Bright ordered Assistant District Attorney Brian Zarallo and defense attorney Thomas A. Bergstrom to file all pretrial motions by Dec. 12.
Zarallo told the judge he believed several days of hearings will be needed to decide how much evidence from church personnel files on priests accused of sexually abusing children will be presented to a jury in the new trial.
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