October Trial Possible in Los Gatos Priest Beating Case, by Sheila Sanchez, The Patch, August 18, 2011

October Trial Possible in Los Gatos Priest Beating Case

By Sheila Sanchez
The Patch
August 18, 2011

http://losgatos.patch.com/articles/october-trial-possible-in-los-gatos-priest-beating-case

Attorney Mark J. Geragos, standing next to defendant William Lynch, answers questions from reporters Thursday morning after Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled that there's enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

William LynchCredit

Supporters of William Lynch, the man accused of assaulting Father Jerold Lindner at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos last May, picket early Wednesday morning in front of the Santa Clara County Courthouse.

Attorneys representing a San Francisco man accused of beating a priest at the Los Gatos Sacred Heart Jesuit Center last year will appear in court this morning to agree with the prosecution and the judge on a trial date.

William Lynch, 44, has been arraigned on one count of felony assault with intent to cause great bodily injury and one count of elder abuse under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death.

Authorities say he walked into the center's reception area the afternoon of May 10, 2010, asked to speak to Father Jerold Lindner, saying he had a death notification about a member of the priest's family, and assaulted him. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The hearing, presided by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena, will take place at 8:30 a.m., in Department 34 of the Santa Clara County Courthouse in San Jose.

Attending the trial setting conference will be attorneys from the Los Angeles-based law firm of Geragos & Geragos and Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Vicki Gemetti, who is prosecuting the case.

Gemetti said she anticipated the trial to begin sometime in October. If convicted of both charges, he could face a maximum of four years in jail.

"Any punishment would be decided by the court, if he's convicted at trial," Gemetti responded when asked if Lynch should receive leniency due to his allegations that defrocked Jesuit priest Jerold Lindner raped and sodomized him and his brother when they were small boys in the '70s while on camping trips.

"This case is about the fact that the defendant has committed a crime," Gemetti said.

Asked whether Lindner will testify as well as other witnesses of the alleged assault, Gemetti said she would not comment about the evidence planned to be presented at trial.

"I'm going to try this case in court and not in the media," Gemetti said when asked if abuse allegations against Lindner will be precluded from the jury.

Several calls and emails to Lynch's attorneys weren't returned by the time of this posting.