Doctor testifies, says he was abused by Philadelphia priest

    A 49-year-old doctor is testifying in a groundbreaking clergy-abuse case about molestation he says he suffered at the hands of a now-defrocked Philadelphia priest.

    The man said he was abused by Edward Avery at the ages of 15 and 18. He said he told the archdiocese about the abuse in 1992.

    Avery’s guilty plea days before his trial confirms that he went on to abuse a boy seven years later, in 1999, while still in parish work.

     

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    On cross examination of the doctor, he acknowledged that defendant Monsignor William Lynn not only responded to his letter but arranged a 1993 confrontation with Avery at a facility where the priest was being treated.

    Lynn is a former secretary for clergy charged with child endangerment for keeping accused priests in ministry.

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