Man Accused of Beating Jesuit Priest Over Alleged Sex Assault Pleads Not Guilty
SAN JOSE, California (AP) A Northern California man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to assaulting a Jesuit priest he claims molested him more than three decades ago.
William Lynch, 43, is accused of luring Rev. Jerold Lindner to the lobby of a Jesuit retirement home May 10, and beating him in front of shocked witnesses.
Lynch, of San Francisco, previously said he intends to take the case to trial so he can expose the alleged molestation and raise awareness about clergy abuse.
"He's very resolute, he's very determined and he's going forward," Lynch's attorney, Pat Harris, said after a brief hearing.
Lynch entered the plea in Santa Clara Superior Court to one count of assault for allegedly beating the 65-year-old Lindner until he was bloody.
Lindner has denied molesting Lynch and his little brother, which Lynch says occurred in 1975 during a weekend camping trip in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Lynch and his brother, who were 7 and 5 at the time of the alleged abuse, reached a settlement in 1998 with the Jesuits of the California Province, a Roman Catholic religious order, in the amount of $625,000.
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