Legal proceedings Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

1 legal proceedings

1.1 edward avery guilty plea , sentencing
1.2 william lynn , james brennan trial
1.3 engelhardt , shero trial
1.4 civil cases

legal proceedings
edward avery guilty plea , sentencing

in march 2012, edward avery, 69, known moonlighting work disc jockey, pleaded guilty involuntary deviate sexual intercourse , conspiracy endanger welfare of child. sentenced 2½ 5 years in prison. charges stem avery’s abuse of altar boy @ st. jerome’s parish in northeast philadelphia in 1999, when avery 57 , boy 10. ... avery @ st. jerome’s despite credible 1992 complaint led him undergo psychological testing @ archdiocesan-run psychiatric hospital, according 2005 grand jury report. pulled parish, put on so-called “health leave” , reassigned in 1993, report said.

two of avery s victims testified common pleas court jury in william lynn trial in april 2012. lynn s alleged crime not taking adequate action against avery after having heard accusation against avery in 1992. testimony of 2 represented pillar of landmark conspiracy , endangerment case prosecutors trying prove against lynn.

william lynn , james brennan trial

msgr. william lynn, pastor of st. joseph church in downingtown, arrested in february 2012, indicted in mid-march and, more week after indictment, put on administrative leave archbishop rigali. according scathing grand jury report, lynn, secretary of clergy archdiocese, concealed crimes of accused priests , put them in positions in harm more children. lynn innocent , victim of excessive zeal on part of district attorney s office, lawyer, jeff lindy, said after arrest. lynn became senior official of roman catholic church in united states tried on charges relating child sexual abuse scandal , first u.s. church official ever charged endangering children allegedly failing oust accused predators priesthood or report them police .

lynn , rev. james j. brennan went on trial in late march 2012. brennan accused of 1996 rape of 14-year-old boy. trial have included edward avery before avery s guilty plea.

as trial opened, lynn , of attorneys, thomas bergstrom, insisting [lynn] tried address long-brewing sexual-abuse problem when served secretary clergy 1992 2004. [deceased cardinal] bevilacqua , other superiors quashed efforts .... jury on tuesday saw 1994 list lynn prepared named 35 accused priests still on duty in five-county archdiocese. avery on [and major subject on opening day], , deemed guilty of abuse. list shows whether archdiocese still sued on each allegation. bevilacqua ordered list shredded, although copy survived .

the court heard lynn testify on april 19, 2012, case of rev. stanley gana fell through cracks due job change. seminarian in 1992 told lynn , lynn s boss, late monsignor james malloy, [the seminarian] had been raped throughout high school ... gana. seminarian, testified in person week, gave lynn , malloy names , parish of 2 other potential victims made no contact victims. malloy told gana avoid contact seminarian because allegations, if true, might criminal. lynn agreed assessment, according testimony. asked why didn t notify police, lynn testified: because weren t required to. did question gana, denied charges. remained pastor @ our mother of sorrows in bridgeport, pennsylvania until 1995; moved florida , garnered further abuse inquiries philadelphia there; , 69 [but i]t s not clear s living , said ap report, detailed testimony on extent , nature of priest s, , superiors , behaviors , actions.

on april 25, 2012, 2 of avery s victims testified, represent[ing] pillar of case against lynn. avery had repeatedly denied guilt , passed polygraph tests. accepted guilty plea not die in prison.

in subsequent trial, surprised prosecutors denying had molested boys. said took plea short sentence.

[t]housands of confidential church records , years of abuse complaints against priests in five-county archdiocese[, many of which] had been locked away years in so-called secret archives, church files cataloged misconduct priests , came light in trial.

on june 22, 2012, monsignor william lynn convicted of 1 of 2 child endangerment charges, , acquitted of single count of conspiracy. had been convicted of 3 charges, have faced 10 20 years in prison. lynn sentenced 3 6 years in prison. first time catholic church official serving in administrative position in diocese convicted in united states covering child sexual abuse priests; efforts have been made indict u.s. bishops well, though prosecuting them more difficult, since viewed vatican being administrative extensions of overseers in own right, despite being u.s. citizens. jury deadlocked on attempted rape , endangerment charges against brennan , judge m. teresa sarmina declared mistrial on charges.

prosecutors said in late june planned retry brennan.

following arguments lenient , stiff sentencing, lynn sentenced 3 6 years in state prison. judge sarmina said had turned blind eye while monsters in clerical garb sexually abused children , devastated church , community . sentence short of maximum , above defense favored.

however, lynn s conviction overturned, , ordered released, three-judge panel of superior court, on thursday, december 26, 2013. court rejected prosecutors arguments had ever supervised children. prosecutors had argued @ trial that, diocesan administrative official (specifically, secretary clergy under late cardinal anthony bevilacqua, , successor, now-retired cardinal justin rigali, 1992 2004, had authorized transfers of priests found have abused children, 1 particular case, former priest edward avery). earlier judge had allowed lynn tried, administrator, superior court rejected argument. case appealed full superior court. however, on april 27, 2015, supreme court of pennsylvania reinstated lynn s conviction. on april 30, 2015, judge sarmina ordered lynn prison continue serving sentence.

on december 22, 2015, pennsylvania superior court considered remaining issues in lynn s appeal , ordered new trial lynn based on evidentiary ruling @ trial. commonwealth filed motion reargument superior court denied on february 10, 2016.

the commonwealth appealed superior court s ruling pennsylvania supreme court on march 10, 2016, court denied in per curiam order on july 26, 2016. philadelphia district attorney s office has since announced retry lynn.

engelhardt , shero trial

rev. charles engelhardt , former parochial school teacher bernard shero tried separately william lynn because did not report lynn. both, avery, associated st. jerome s parish. 2 charged rape, indecent sexual assault , other criminal charges in decade-plus-old assaults. primary accuser called billy in 2011 grand jury report , key witness against men. after delays, rescheduling , transfer judge ellen ceisler, case tried in january 2013 , both engelhardt , shero convicted. in june 2013, engelhardt sentenced 6 12 years in prison, , shero sentenced 8 16 years in prison. both must serve 5 years of probation after prison. families in court, both protested innocence. engelhardt insisted had no memory of meeting former altar boy. denied assaulting boy , said after sentencing, have accepted injustice [but] ... believe righted. ceiler s sentences exceeded mandatory minimums. guidelines, said, shock conscience , sense of justice.

englehardt died in november, 2014. handcuffed hospital bed, police standing guard. authorities denied hin heart surgery might have extended life.

civil cases

in september 2012, 8 lawsuits brought andrew druding , michael w. mcdonnell , 7 other survivors joined 8 other suits. druding, 51, named rev. francis s. feret of st. timothy parish in mayfair in 1970s abuser, in press conference 2 held attorneys. mcdonnell said in late 1970s , 1980s, abused rev. john p. schmeer , now-laicized francis x. trauger of st. titus parish , school near norristown. 8 earlier-filed lawsuits involved different victims. attorneys included marci hamilton, legal advocate , expert on child sexual abuse; malvern lawyer daniel f. monahan; , jeffrey r. anderson, veteran litigator involving church sex-abuse cases, based in saint paul, minnesota.

on october 7, 2015, pennsylvania state superior court ruled 2 men claim sexually abused catholic priests decades ago waited long sue archdiocese of philadelphia on alleged assaults. superior court decision backs earlier ruling philadelphia judge dismissed lawsuits filed against archdiocese francis finnegan of delaware county , philip gaughan of delaware. both men had filed complaints independently in march 2011, , appealed initial dismissals state court in 2014. finnegan , gaughan told associated press in interviews after suits filed wanted named encourage other victims come forward. superior court opinion, written president judge susan peikes gantman, noted finnegan, 54, claimed abused repeatedly 1968 1970. finnegan claimed in suit suppressed memories of abuse until 2007. memories came him in waves, claimed , reported abuse archdiocese s victim assistance program in 2008. finnegan, diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, refused archdiocese s offers of medical , psychological assistance before filing suit in philadelphia county court, gantman noted. gaughan, 35, claimed molested 1994 1997. reported abuse victim assistance program in 2010, , began counseling @ recommendation of program officials, court filings state. in suit, gaughan said remembered abuse, linked psychological problems, including ptsd. philadelphia judge jacqueline f. allen dismissed both lawsuits on statute of limitations grounds after diocese filed motions summary judgment. in agreeing decision, gantman wrote pennsylvania law sets two-year time limit filing lawsuits in childhood sexual abuse cases , not waive deadline cases involving repressed memories. finnegan s deadline sue have expired in 1972, gantman found, while cut-off filing of gaughan s suit have expired in 2000, 2 years after gaughan turned 18. fact remains knew happening , doing when abuse occurred , should have instituted (suits) within prescribed statutes of limitations, state judge wrote. superior court ruling appealed state supreme court. priests finnegan , gaughan accuse of molesting them dead. both filed suits after 3 priests , high-ranking official of archdiocese charged philadelphia district attorney s office failing protect children priests pedophiles.

the defendants in finnegan , gaughan suits included monsignor william lynn, secretary clergy archdiocese 1992 2004 , responsible investigating reports of sex abuse priests. lynn convicted of child endangerment during trial in 2012 , sentenced 3 6 years in prison. spent 18 months behind bars before superior court overturned conviction, state supreme court reinstated conviction past april. lynn, 64, serving sentence in state prison @ waymart.