Judge Keeps Gag Order in Philly Priestabuse Case, 6 ABC, October 7, 2011

Judge Keeps Gag Order in Philly Priest-abuse Case

6 ABC
October 7, 2011

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=8382590

60-year-old Monsignor William Lynn, the Secretary for Clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia under Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, is facing two counts of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the assaults. Msgr. Lynn is facing a maximum of 14 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

PHILADELPHIA - October 7, 2011 (WPVI) -- A judge will allow prosecutors to have their own medical expert evaluate the retired Roman Catholic monsignor before a scheduled competency hearing.

It was one of several pretrial motions that Common Pleas Judge Teresa Sarmina ruled on Friday in a criminal priest-abuse case.

Monsignor William Lynn is the first Catholic church official in the U.S. charged with endangering children through priest transfers. Three other priests and a teacher are charged with rape.

Prosecutors want to call retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua to testify, but church lawyers say the former archbishop suffers from cancer and dementia. His competency hearing is Nov. 28.

Also Friday, Sarmina deferred a request from Lynn's lawyers to move the trial because of pretrial publicity. She denied their request to lift a gag order.