Philly monsignor says priest lied about abuse

Attorneys for a jailed Philadelphia monsignor say their client’s one-time co-defendant lied when he pleaded guilty to abusing an altar boy.

Monsignor William Lynn is seeking bail while he appeals his conviction on child endangerment charges for failing to protect a boy from the priest he now claims lied when admitting the abuse.

 

In a Superior Court motion filed yesterday, Lynn’s attorneys say former priest Edward Avery gave prosecutors a statement and took a polygraph test in which he denied even knowing the boy. The motion claims Avery didn’t actually abuse the boy but opted to plead guilty in order to receive a lesser jail term.  

Lynn is the first U.S. Roman Catholic church supervisor convicted of endangering children by helping the church shuttle accused priests from church to church.

Prosecutors tell The Philadelphia Inquirer their response to Lynn’s motion would come in court.