Co-Defendant in Archdiocese Trial Pleads Guilty to ‘Deviate Sexual Intercourse’ with 10-year Old Altar Boy

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In a success for the victims of priestly pedophilia, Edward Avery, 69, a co-defendant of Monsignor William Lynn, 61, ex-secretary of the clergy under late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, pled guilty on Thursday. Avery admitted to the court of his involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and criminal conspiracy to endanger the welfare of children. Avery, accused with the sex abuse of a 10-year old altar boy was immediately sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, which may extend to five years. The scar on the soul of the abused altar boy, however, is for life.

The light sentence is surprising as under common law and all judicial precepts in civilized countries, a person in a ‘fiduciary role’ gets a much higher sentence than a normal person who does not have any relationship of trust and control over the victim of sex abuse.

Not missing any opportunity, the defense lawyers for the highest ranking church official to go on trial immediately asked the court on Friday to pick a new jury and dismiss the one already selected. The case was to go to trial on Monday.

  

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The defense lawyers for the Archdiocese argue that a co-defendant pleading guilty just before the case was to go to trial can influence the jury which has already been selected, and which is yet to sit in trial. The defense lawyers argue that the recent turn of incidents is sufficient to delay the trial related to the Catholic Church’s pedophilia scandal and repeating patterns of child endangerment.

Lynn’s attorney Jeffrey Lindy told the Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina that a co-defendant pleading guilty would have associated news coverage and a new jury is needed before the case goes to trial. Lindy told the court, “We’re not unhappy with the jury we got … But because of what happened yesterday, we don’t see any way around it.”

However, the prosecutors disagreed, saying that whoever comes in as jury need to be informed by the judge about the co-defendant pleading guilty in the case, and the knowledge cannot be withheld from the jury under law. Hence, the jury already picked cannot become biased just because it comes to know of the fact from the media – the court would need to make the jury aware of the facts, anyway.

Monday is scheduled for the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, along with four other defrocked priests including Rev. James Brennan. Edward Avery has avoided the dock by pleading guilty at the last moment before the prosecutors could have a go at him in the open court.