Landmark conviction of Philadelphia monsignor reversed for 2nd time
December 22, 2015
For the 2nd time, an appeals court has reversed the conviction of a former official of the Philadelphia archdiocese who was found guilty in 2012 of failure to protect children from sexual abuse.
Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has ordered a new trial for Msgr. William Lynn, finding that the judge at his trial erred by allowing a large number of sex-abuse victims to testify about their complaints.
The conviction of Msgr. Lynn had been overturned by another appeals court in 2013, on the grounds that at the time when he was serving as vicar for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese, state law did not provide for prosecution of an official who failed to take action on abuse complaints. The state’s Supreme Court reversed that ruling in April 2015, saying that the existing law provided adequate grounds for prosecution.
The 2012 conviction of Msgr. Lynn was a landmark case. He was the highest-ranking cleric to be sentenced to prison—not for abuse that he committed, but for negligence in responding to abuse by others under his supervision. Local prosecutors were aggressive in pushing for his conviction.
Msgr. Lynn—who was released from prison after the earlier appeals-court ruling, then jailed again in April of this year—has now served about two years in prison. He was originally sentenced to a three-to-six year term. Philadelphia prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek to send him back to prison.
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Further information:
- Church official's conviction over complaints reversed again (AP)
- Philadelphia priest returned to prison after court decision reinstating conviction (CWN, 4/30)
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