PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Associated Press
By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A defrocked Philadelphia priest pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing an altar boy in a church sacristy, days before he was to go on trial with two other priests in a landmark child sex-abuse case.
Edward Avery, 69, pleaded guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child. He was immediately sentenced to 2½ to five years in prison and was ordered to surrender within 10 days.
The charges stemmed from Avery’s abuse of an altar boy at St. Jerome’s Parish in northeast Philadelphia during the 1998-99 school year.
Two other church officials are still set to go on trial Monday. They include Monsignor William Lynn, the first U.S. church official ever charged with endangering children for allegedly failing to oust accused predators from the priesthood.
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