PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philly.com
by Jeremy Roebuck, STAFF WRITER.
A state appellate court on Wednesday refused to reconsider its decision last year to overturn what had been the first conviction nationwide of a Roman Catholic Church official for covering up child sex abuse by priests.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court denied a request from District Attorney Seth Williams to reargue the case against Msgr. William J. Lynn in front of a full panel of the court’s nine judges.
The decision came two months after a three-judge panel of the court ordered a new trial for Lynn, continuing what has become a drawn out legal fight for the 64-year-old cleric three year years after his original conviction on child endangerment charges.
Williams’ office could now appeal the Superior Court decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court or move forward with the new trial ordered by the Superior Court. “We are in the process of reviewing the decision,” a spokesman for the office said. .
The monsignor remains housed in a state prison in Waymart, northeast of Scranton, having completed more than two years of his three- to six-year term.
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