Judge: No Bail for Msgr. Lynn

By Mensah M. Dean
Philadelphia Daily News
August 7, 2012

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/165215516.html

A PHILADELPHIA judge on Monday denied bail to Monsignor William Lynn, the Catholic priest who was sentenced last month to serve three to six years in state prison for his role in enabling another priest to sexually abuse an altar boy.

After a brief hearing, Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said Lynn, 61, had no constitutional right to receive bail while his case is being appealed. Lynn, who served as secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, was not at the hearing.

Sarmina, who presided over Lynn's three-month trial, said she denied the defendant bail because of the serious nature of his crime and because he was convicted of a felony.

Lynn's attorney, Jeff Lindy, decried the ruling and Lynn's conviction on one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The appeal would center on the fact that the state's child-endangerment law has never been applied in the manner that it was in Lynn's trial, he said.

"The previous district attorney, Lynne Abraham, no stranger to being tough on crime, said the old [endangerment] law should not be applied to Monsignor Lynn and people like him. The law doesn't extend that way," Lindy said. "Well, a new D.A. comes in and says it does apply. So you have a conflict there in the District Attorney's Office."

Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti said the judge made the right decision in keeping Lynn incarcerated.

"She basically is not giving this defendant any special privileges," Cipolletti said. "She did the absolute right thing. He's been sentenced to three to six years, and he should start serving that right away." 3n

Contact Mensah M. Dean at 215-568-8278 or deanm@philly.com