By priests erupted, Philadelphia's district attorney has taken a step no prosecutor in the United States had taken before: filing criminal charges against a high-ranking Roman Catholic official for allegedly failing to protect children.. "I love my church," said District Attorney Seth Williams, himself a Catholic, "but I detest the criminal behavior of priests who abuse or allow the abuse of children.". Williams announced charges Thursday against three priests, a parochial school teacher and Msgr. William Lynn, who as secretary of the clergy was one of the top officials in the Philadelphia Archdiocese from 1992 to 2004.. The three priests and the teacher were charged with raping boys. Lynn, 60, was accused not of molesting children but of endangering them. A damning grand jury report said at least two boys were sexually assaulted because he put two known pedophiles in posts where they had contact with youngsters.. "The rapist priests we accuse were well-known to the secretary of clergy, but he cloaked their conduct and put them in place to do it again," the report said. Lynn could get up to 14 years in prison if convicted. His attorney, Tom Bergstrom, said: "We certainly don't concede for a moment that he knew he was putting children at risk."
Hearing for accused CVS killer ... Violent crime plummets in NYC ... LI Volunteers: America's Vetdogs
Credit: Newsday
Updated 34 minutes ago Wegmans using facial recognition ... Proposed Long Beach apartment upgrades ... "Torso killer" admits to another murder ... Learning to fly the trapeze
Hearing for accused CVS killer ... Violent crime plummets in NYC ... LI Volunteers: America's Vetdogs
Credit: Newsday
Updated 34 minutes ago Wegmans using facial recognition ... Proposed Long Beach apartment upgrades ... "Torso killer" admits to another murder ... Learning to fly the trapeze
