Alleged rape victim acquitted of beating priest

SAN JOSE (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle

Kevin Fagan

(07-05) 14:47 PDT SAN JOSE — A jury in San Jose found a 44-year-old man not guilty Thursday of two felony counts stemming from an alleged attack on a retired Catholic priest who he says raped him on a camping trip in 1975.

William Lynch was acquitted of felony assault and elder abuse for allegedly beating Jerold Lindner in a Los Gatos retirement center in 2010. The jury hung on a count of misdemeanor assault.

If convicted, Lynch could have gone to prison for four years.

The nationally watched trial threw a spotlight on the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, as Lynch sought

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