Monsignor William Lynn gets 3-6 years in Philadelphia church sex abuse cover-up

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Monsignor William Lynn walks to the Criminal Justice Center June 19, 2012, in Philadelphia.

/ AP Photo

(CBS/AP) PHILADELPHIA - Monsignor William Lynn, the first U.S. Roman Catholic church official convicted of covering up child abuse claims, was sentenced Tuesday to three to six years behind bars.

Lynn, 61, had faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for his felony child endangerment conviction. He was cleared of three related charges at trial.

Lynn, the former secretary for clergy at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, handled priest assignments and child sexual assault complaints from 1992 to 2004.

Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said that Lynn enabled "monsters in clerical garb ... to destroy the souls of children, to whom you turned a hard heart."

She added: "You knew full well what was right, Monsignor Lynn, but you chose wrong."

Lynn has been in prison since the June 22 jury verdict, when the trial judge revoked his bail.

Prosecutors had argued for the maximum sentence.

"His active, even eager execution of archdiocese policies - carried out in the face of victims' vivid suffering, and employing constant deceit - required a more amoral character, a striving to please his bosses no matter how sinister the business," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo filed Friday. "At any time during those 12 years, he could have had a moment of conscience."

The defense asked for a sentence of time served, probation or house arrest.

"The seven-year maximum sentence that the commonwealth advocates would serve no purpose at all - (it) would merely be cruel and unusual," Lynn's lawyers wrote in their sentencing memo.

Complete coverage of Monsignor William Lynn on Crimesider

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by LadyGoodmann July 25, 2012 2:15 AM EDT: What's cruel and unusual is the Church's systemic, sexual abuse of children and its conspiracy to obstruct justice, saying, "Praise Jesus," all the while. What a colossal waste of oxygen. We're supposed to leave our corner of the world better than we found it, not contribute to the hate and suffering. It's about time our government officials prosecuted these narcissistic bastards. The one who really needs to do time is that Prada-wearing sycophant in Rome, f/k/a Joseph Ratzinger. You just haven't lived until your "spiritual" leader tells you that you need an exorcism when you go to him for help after having been violated in the worst possible manner. They can all go to hell in the same handbasket.; Reply to this comment


by imnho July 24, 2012 8:25 PM EDT: He may be in for a big surprise if he drops the soap. Then he will learn about the conquences of his actions the hard way.; Reply to this comment


by jklombardi July 24, 2012 7:05 PM EDT: The general population will be good for him. He will learn the error of his ways,and have the opportunity to be rehabilitated in a big way. Hopefully.; Reply to this comment


by sdemaggie July 24, 2012 5:36 PM EDT: What happened to Canon Law? This is wrong.; Reply to this comment

by joejustjoe July 24, 2012 4:33 PM EDT

If justice was truly served he would be doing life. 3-6 years is a joke. He will get out one day, hopefully a broken sick old man.

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by ultraskygod July 24, 2012 5:19 PM EDT: Or, someone will get to him in the pen and he won't get out at all.


by Martha12345 July 24, 2012 3:44 PM EDT: Soon he'll have a his own statue in Vatican City.; Reply to this comment


by Nvwmn July 24, 2012 3:24 PM EDT: Why does he just get 3 to 6 years? Because the Vatican is protecting him? They are total hypocrites and the Vatican will pay in the long run, along with the rest of the crooked people running this planet.

That guy needs to go to prison for life.; Reply to this comment


by jwilsonte5 July 24, 2012 2:16 PM EDT: Yes praying on the weakest poor kids and many men in prison were abused by deviats like this guy who allowed this to go on .. many abused by there step fathers and moms boy friends this guy is done ..its about time society STOPS with this light handed justice in these sick acts.. Hopefully sandicksy will rot in prison!! all I can say to them is HAVE A NICE DAY AHHAHAH; Reply to this comment


by Rick03466 July 24, 2012 2:05 PM EDT: While I agree it is a "Drop in the Ocean" It is a good drop! A few thousand more to go. The other thing that has to happen is to hit this criminal organization where it live in the wallet.; Reply to this comment


by denisesebestalanier July 24, 2012 1:44 PM EDT: His sentence, legally speaking, is on par with the average sentence for conspiring to commit a robbery; a *single* count of robbery. I believe his sentence should more closely resemble that of conspiring to commit a murder.

If we're going for a sentence that truly fits the multitude of crimes in the case of Monsignor William Lynn, we'd then multiply the sentence of a single count of conspiracy to commit murder by the number of children whose abuse he facilitated. And for true justice, we are then called upon to multiply that sentence by the number of years this "man of god"-monster actively facilitated the ongoing abuse of these victims. Perhaps then the term "justice system" would, at the very least, not be so obviously oxymoronic as it relates to the handling of this case. And, sadly, the handling of most cases involving abuse and assault against our country's children.

In situations of emergency, the rule is women and children first. There's a reason we make saving children a priority, put their well-being and their futures foremost. Our courts, too many judges and juries, lawyers and law-makers, the appointed servants of our nation, states and cities, seem to have forgotten how to make the welfare of our children a priority, why it matters - and why justice in regard to crimes against children, above anything and everything else we say or do - tells the story of who we are.; Reply to this comment