CALIFORNIA
KTVU
KTVU And AP Wires
SAN JOSE, Calif. —
Emotions continued to simmer Monday at the trial of a man accused of beating a priest who he claims molested him as a child.
Attorneys were set to begin closing arguments before the jury considering the fate of William Lynch who is being tried on one count of assault and one count of elder abuse.
Lynch testified Friday that he punched the priest he accuses of molesting him after memories of the alleged sexual abuse came flooding back across the decades and were so vivid that he felt threatened.
While he is the defendant in Santa Clara County court, his lawyers are attempting to put the retired priest on trial in the court of public opinion. The attorneys are using the alleged abuse in 1975 as a defense for the pummeling of Jerold Lindner on May 10, 2010. Lynch testified Friday that memories of the alleged abuse triggered a violent reaction when he confronted the retired priest on that afternoon.
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