The Heron's Nest: Blockbuster Testimony Rocks Philly Priest Trial

By Phil Heron
Daily Times
January 18, 2013

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2013/01/18/opinion/doc50f93b4b32cc9851179904.txt

It’s pretty safe to say this was not what the prosecution had in mind when they put the Rev. Edward Avery on the stand Thursday. Avery was called to testify for the prosecution in the trial of another priest and a Catholic school teacher on charges they raped an altar boy and student at a parish in Northeast Philly back in 1998-199.

But it sure didn’t sound like it. Avery, who had pleaded guilty to similar charges involving this accuser nearly a year ago, had something else he wanted to say. The defrocked priest quickly turned into what is referred in legal circles as a “hostile witness.”

Ya think?

Avery stunned prosecutors by denying he had ever raped the boy, recanting his earlier admission and guilty plea. Furthermore, the 70-year-old ex-cleric said he only pleaded guilty - in the process admitting he raped the boy - because he was afraid that if he went to trial and was convicted, he would have been sent to jai for the rest of his life. As part of his plea deal, Avery is instead serving two and a half to five years in prison.

Not only does Avery’s testimony throw the case against the Rev. Charles Engelhardt and teacher Bernard Shero into doubt, it also throws a cloud over the earlier conviction of Monsignor William Lynn, who infamously became the highest-ranking church official charged and convicted in connection with the priest sex scandal.

Specifically Lynn, acting in his position as secretary of the clergy for former Archbishop Anthony Bevilacqua, was convicted of endangering the welfare of children because of his assignment of Avery. In other words, Lynn knew of Avery's behavior with children and assigned him to a parish where he would be near children anyhow.

Now Avery is saying the attack in question never happened, despite his guilty plea and admission that it did.

As you can imagine, Monsignor Lynn’s attorneys are planning to ask a judge to reconsider his case.

For its part, the prosecution is not budging, saying they believe Avery is more motivated by the civil suit the alleged victim has filed against him.

I’m not sure a jury is going to see it that way.

“I didn’t want to die in jail,” Avery testified. “I was looking at 60 years in prison. Every motion we filed had been turned down, so my options were less and less. So that’s why I chose to plea.”

But as to the specific allegation in this case, Avery was clear. Asked if he raped the 24-year-old policeman’s son, Avery said: “I did not. So help me God.”

Kelly breathes new life into moribund Eagles franchise

It’s a new era in Philadelphia Eagles football.

That much could not be more evident after the Birds rolled out the 21st coach in their history yesterday at the Nova Care Center.

Forget the suit, folks. Chip Kelly, dressed in a polo shirt and sweater vest, was ready to get to work.

But first he dazzled the collected Philly media.

No grumbling about “injuries.” No gruff “time’s yours.” No lame refrain of "having to do a better job."

The difference was palpable. There was a buzz in the place, replacing the ugly death watch that marked the last two years of the Andy Reid Era.

Suddenly the Eagles have a youthful energy, a guy who looks like a straight shooter, a coach who says it’s not up to him to “put the players in a better position.” Kelly, just hours removed from Oregon, hit all the right notes in his Philly debut. He insisted that the players make the depth chart by the way the perform in practice. How’s that for putting people in position?

Hell, he even acknowledged the quintessential Philly event. Kelly quipped that he knows the second most important Bowl in Philly. That, of course, would be Wing Bowl.

He also knows part of the Wing Bowl lure is the fact that we so often find ourselves on the outside looking in for Super Bowl weekend. He hopes to change that.

There were plenty of other questions yesterday, about how much control he has over the operation and how he plans to share those duties with Howie Roseman, about his much-talked-about hurry-up offensive philosophy and whether it will translate to the NFL game, and of course about who will be his quarterback and if that person is currently on the Eagles’ roster.

All of that will be answered in time.

Yesterday, it was like a breath of fresh air had arrived at the Nova Care Center and blown away all the old, stale images that have dogged this franchise now for a couple of years.

This is now Chip Kelly’s team. We’ll see if he can make it Chip Kelly’s town.

Winning a champion-Chip would help.

The Daily Numbers: 203,048 dollars a year. That’s salary of Medical Examiner Dr. Fredrick Hellman, highest paid employee in Delaware County government.

172,271, salary for D.A. Jack Whelan.

171,518, salary for executive director Marianne Grace.

22 county employees who top the $100,000 dollar mark.

2 percent pay raise for all full-time county employees.

2 percent pay hikes in 2011 and 2012 as well. There was a pay freeze in 2010.

2.8 percent tax hike included in this year’s county budget.

27, age of man gunned down in Chester on Tuesday, becoming the 1st homicide in the county in 2013.

70, age of defrocked priest who is now serving 2 and a half to 5 years in prison for pleading guilty to raping an altar boy back in the late ‘90s. Yesterday he testified the attack never took place.

60 years in prison, what former priest Edward Avery could have faced if convicted at trial.

12 people killed in Aurora, Colo., movie theater back in July. The theater reopened Thursday.

4.4 percent increase in revenue from Pa.’s 11 casinos last year. The casinos raked in $3.1 billion.

2, Pa.’s ranking now in gambling states, trailing only Las Vegas. It has surpassed Atlantic City.

Call me a Phanatic: A look at the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia sports fan.

It’s a new era in Eagles football. Chip Kelly certainly hit all the right notes yesterday in his initial session with the media. Now all he has to do is win.

I Don’t Get It: How could anyone attack a person on a subway platform and then drag them onto the tracks. How low can we go?

Today’s Upper: Kudos to Howie Roseman. The Eagles GM was taking serious heat from the national media, who were portraying him as a hindrance in the Eagles hunt for a new head coach. Now it turns out Roseman was busy sealing the deal with the team’s No. 1 choice, Oregon coach Chip Kelly.

Quote Box: “I did not. So help me God.”

- Former priest Edward Avery on stand yesterday, denying sexually abusing altar boy back in the late ‘90s. Two others are now on trial in similar attacks. Avery pleaded guilty months ago, but now says he did so only to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. He says the attack never happened.