PHILADELPHIA (PA)
PBS Newshour
[with video]
Transcript
JEFFREY BROWN: A jury convicted a U.S. church official for the first time for the handling and cover-up of sexual abuse claims.
Sixty-one-year-old Monsignor William Lynn of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was found guilty of child endangerment. Prosecutors said he recommended reassigning priests accused of abuse to unsuspecting parishes when he served as secretary of the clergy from 1992 to 2004. The jury acquitted him on one count of conspiracy and another of endangerment. He could face up to seven years in prison.
The jury could not agree on a verdict for his co-defendant, Rev. James Brennan. He was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in 1996.
After the verdict, district attorney Seth Williams had this to say.
SETH WILLIAMS, Philadelphia district attorney: What happened here was unspeakable. People who knew that these were predators were much more concerned with the institution than the victims of sexual assault. They failed to recognize that the church is its people.
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