PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAST UPDATED: Friday, August 9, 2013
Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has set Sept. 17 for oral arguments on the appeal by Msgr. William J. Lynn, convicted last year of child endangerment for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse.
A letter setting the appeal date was filed Monday by the state’s intermediate appeals court for criminal and civil appeals. The appeals hearing will be held in Philadelphia before a three-judge panel: Judges John T. Bender, Christine L. Donohue and John L. Musmanno.
Lynn’s conviction by a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury was a landmark: the first church official criminally charged for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of child sexual abuse.
On July 24, 2012, Judge M. Teresa Sarmina sentenced Lynn to three to six years in prison. Lynn is in Waymart state prison in Northeast Pennsylvania. Lynn, 62, was not accused of personally molesting children; his job as Secretary for Clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia required him to investigate allegations against priests and recommend action to the archbishop.
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