Lawyers for Pa. church official seek house arrest

    A Roman Catholic church official convicted of child endangerment will remain in jail today while his lawyers seek his release on house arrest.

    Monsignor William Lynn has been in custody since a jury found him guilty Friday of felony child endangerment. The charges stem from Lynn’s handling of clergy-abuse claims at the Philadelphia archdiocese.

    The 61-year-old Lynn is the first U.S. church official convicted in the cover-up of child sex-abuse complaints. He plans to appeal.

    The defense will ask a judge to let him live with a family friend in northeast Philadelphia, because his relatives don’t live in the city, as required for house arrest.

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    Lynn faces 3-1/2 to seven years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 13. Lynn served as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004.

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