No decision has been made yet on whether a Roman Catholic church official convicted of child endangerment will be released on house arrest.
Monsignor William Lynn has been in custody since a jury found him guilty of felony child endangerment on Friday. Lynn was the church secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004. During this time, he was responsible for investigating allegations of sexual abuse against priests. The prosecution accused Lynn of merely moving those accused priests to other churches.
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.
Lynn’s attorneys are asking for bail for their client and want the court to put him on house arrest until his sentencing on August 13. They plan to ask the 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. The prosecution however wants him to remain behind bars until his bail hearing.
"We're going to continue to fight the battle," said Lynn's attorney Thomas Bergstrom. "We've got some decent legal issues and we'll see where it goes."
Lynn is facing a maximum of seven years in jail. The prosecution is seeking the max.
The jury was deadlocked on the two counts facing Lynn's co-defendant, Father James Brennan.
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The hearing on Lynn's bail began at 11 a.m. but the court did not reach a decision during the meeting. Another motions hearing is set to take place on July 5.
