In the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
April 27, 2015

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/legal/Commonwealth_v_Lynn/2015_04_27_Commonwealth_v_Lynn_Baer_Opinion.pdf

[full tetx]

CASTILLE, C.J., SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, TODD, STEVENS, JJ.

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,

Appellant

v.

WILLIAM LYNN,

Appellee:

No. 15 EAP 2014

Appeal from the Judgment of the Superior

Court entered on 12/26/2013 at No. 2171

EDA 2012 reversing the judgment of

sentence entered on 7/24/2012 in the

Court of Common Pleas, Criminal

Division, Philadelphia County at No. CP-

51-CR-0003530-2011

83 A.3d 434

ARGUED: November 18, 2014

OPINION

MR. JUSTICE BAER DECIDED: April 27, 2015

Following a jury trial on charges that he endangered the welfare of children,1 William Lynn (Appellee) was convicted and sentenced to a term of three to six years of incarceration. On appeal from his judgment of sentence, he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction, contending that he had no direct supervision of the children he was found to have endangered. The Superior Court agreed, and reversed his conviction. On the Commonwealth’s appeal, we reverse the Superior Court, concluding that there is no statutory requirement of direct supervision of children.

Rather, that which is supervised is the child’s welfare. Under the facts presented at trial, Appellee was a person supervising the welfare of many children because, as a high-ranking official in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, he was specifically responsible for protecting children from sexually abusive priests.