Monsignor William Lynn

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has reinstated the conviction of the first Catholic Church official to be convicted criminally for the sexual abuse of children for whose welfare he was responsible for but who he did not directly abuse, The Legal Intelligencer's Gina Passarella and Lizzy McLellan report.

The intermediate appellate court found that Monsignor William Lynn could not have been convicted for endangering the welfare of children he never supervised. But Justice Max Baer, writing for the majority of the Supreme Court, found that Lynn"'was a person supervising the welfare of many children because, as a high-ranking official in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, he was specifically responsible for protecting children from sexually abusive priests,"' The Legal reports.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will take up the first case in the country in which a Catholic Church was convicted of endangering children abused by other priests, The Legal Intelligencer's Zack Needles reports. The Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned Monsignor William Lynn's conviction because "the trial judge had refused to address the defense argument that a pre-amended version of Pennsylvania's law criminalizing endangerment of the welfare of children did not apply in the case," The Legal further reports. The high court granted allocatur on the issue of whether there was sufficient evidence to convict Lynn either as a principal or as an accomplice to endangering the welfare of children.

Monsignor William Lynn, the first Catholic Church officially to be criminal convicted for the sexual abuse done to youth that he had responsibility for (but did not directly abuse), won his appeal, Zack Needles, my former colleague at The Legal Intelligencer, reports: "Lynn's lawyers had argued following his conviction that the trial judge had refused to address the defense argument that a pre-amended version of Pennsylvania's law criminalizing endangerment of the welfare of children did not apply in the case. President Judge John T. Bender, writing for the court, agreed, saying Lynn was not the direct supervisor of any of the alleged victims, but instead supervised the direct supervisors of the alleged victims. Therefore, he was not covered as a principal under the pre-amended EWOC statute, Bender said."

Two Pennsylvania institutions--Penn State University and the Catholic Church-- were shown to have severe institutional problems of failing to protect children from sex abuse due to two criminal prosecutions. The guilty verdicts were reached the same night against ex-football coach Jerry Sandusky for sexually abusing multiple victims and against Monsignor William Lynn, the first Catholic Church official in the country to be convicted of a crime related to the sexual abuse of youth who were directly abused by other clergy. Appellete arguments in both cases coincided the same day too. Here's a roundup of coverage of the legal arguments before separate panels in the Pennsylvania Superior Court in both cases:

Sandusky:

Allentown Morning Call- Sandusky lawyer cites delay in victims reporting abuse in reasoning for new trial: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-penn-state-jerry-sandusky-appeal-0...

Harrisburg Patriot-News- Jerry Sandusky gets his day in appeals court: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/jerry_sandusky_gets_h...

Scranton Times-Tribune- http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/justices-to-decide-new-sandusky-trial-1...

Lynn:

The Legal Intelligencer- Superior Ct. Hears Arguments In Priest Sex-Abuse Case:

http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202619567790&Superior_Ct_...

Philadelphia Inquirer-Convicted monsignor's lawyer questions law's application: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130918_Convicted_priests_la...

Associated Press- Pennsylvania Appeals Court Hears Monsignor Lynn’s Endangerment Case: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/09/17/pennsylvania-appeals-court-h...

Monsignor William J. Lynn was the first Catholic Church official in the country to be convicted of a crime related to the sexual abuse of youth who were directly abused by other clergy, not Lynn. Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Joseph A. Slobodzian reported on the Pennsylvania appellate arguments challenging Lynn's conviction on the grounds that the crime Lynn was convicted of--endangering the welfare of child crime--could not apply to him because the statute was written to criminalize the failures in the direct supervision of kids. Defense lawyer Tom Bergstrom also argued that Lynn's conviction can't stand under the amended version of the endangering statute because he was no longer supervising children at the time the law was changed.