SALON

Friday, Jul 6, 2012 12:45 AM UTC

Man acquitted of assaulting retired priest in CA

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Man acquitted of assaulting retired priest in CAWilliam Lynch reacts with his father John Lynch, left, outside of a San Jose, Calif., courthouse after William Lynch was found not guilty of two felonies, Thursday, July 5, 2012. Lynch was accused of beating an aging priest who Lynch says molested him and his younger brother more than 35 years ago.Lynch faced felony charges of assault and elder abuse. Prosecutors say he beat the Rev. Jerold Lindner at a retirement home for priests in 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)(Credit: AP)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A man who admitted beating up a priest who allegedly molested him as a child was acquitted Thursday of the assault, a surprising verdict that allowed the defendant to escape a prison sentence.

Supporters of defendant William Lynch openly wept and hugged in the courtroom as the verdicts were read. Later, Lynch and his two attorneys emerged from the courthouse to a rousing cheer.

“I honestly thought I was going to jail,” Lynch said. “It turned out better than I expected.”

Steven Clark, a former prosecutor who watched most of the trial, called the verdict a rarity given Lynch’s admission.

“The DA’s office was in a very difficult position because they had to go forward with the case,” Clark said. “They can’t allow vigilante justice to be ignored. But the DA’s office is not used to having pedophiles as victims.”

District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen said authorities understood the abuse and trauma suffered by Lynch. “And while we understand Mr. Lynch’s desire for revenge, we don’t condone it,.” he said.

Jurors told the San Francisco Chronicle that none of the members wanted to convict Lynch after hearing his testimony about the alleged abuse at the hands of Lindner. The jurors asked to remain anonymous.

During the closely watched trial, prosecutors called Lynch a vigilante and implored the jury not to be swayed by his dramatic testimony describing the horrific ordeal he claims to have endured.

Lynch countered that he only wanted the priest to sign a confession and started punching Lindner after the retired priest “leered” at him the same way he looked at Lynch during the alleged molestation during a 1985 camping trip.

Lunch previously declined a plea bargain and said he hoped to use the case to publicly shame Lindner and bring further attention to the Catholic Church clergy abuse scandal. Lynch has said memories of the priest have tormented him for years, and he struggled through alcohol abuse, nightmares, divorce and other problems. He tried to commit suicide twice.

However, after the verdicts were read, he said he had regrets for resorting to violence against Lindner.

“I was wrong for what I did,” he said. “I wanted to bring attention to the cause.”

The jury acquitted Lynch after the two-week trial of two felony charges of assault and elder abuse. It deadlocked 8-4 to convict him of the much less serious charge of misdemeanor assault, and Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen said he was undecided on whether to pursue another trial.

Lindner also testified and denied abusing Lynch. He later invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and would not testify further for fear of a perjury prosecution. The judge ordered Lindner’s testimony stricken from the record.

In a deposition in the late 1990s, Lindner said he didn’t recall Lynch, who received $625,000 in a 1998 confidential settlement with the Jesuits after alleging the abuse.

Pat Harris, another defense attorney called on the district attorney to prosecute the priest for perjury.

“Lindner is not beyond justice,” Harris said. “He perjured himself and let’s see them put him in jail.”

On Thursday, Lynch said the verdict would help him heal.

“This has brought me a certain closure. I found a voice that I didn’t have. I’ve become empowered,” Lynch said. “I feel like I can have some peace and get on with my life.”

He called on other abuse victims to “come forward and tell their story.”

Lynch could have faced four years in prison if convicted. The jury began deliberations late Monday and spent all day Tuesday discussing the case. They didn’t deliberate on Wednesday.

__

Associated Press writer Paul Elias in San Francisco contributed to this report.

A jury has acquitted a man charged with assaulting a retired priest he says molested him more than three decades ago in California.

The jury of nine men and three women returned its verdict Thursday against William Lynch after starting deliberations Monday in San Jose.

Prosecutors say Lynch acted as a vigilante when he pummeled Jerold Lindner with his fists in the 2010 attack. They said Lynch’s testimony about his alleged sexual abuse by Lindner was no excuse for beating up the priest years later.

Defense attorneys countered that it was not an act of revenge. Instead, they said Lynch wanted the priest to sign a confession and still felt threatened by him and the memories of the abuse.

Lindner denied on the witness stand that he molested Lynch.

More Terry Collins.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • This photo. President Barack Obama has a laugh during the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tx., Thursday. Former first lady Barbara Bush, who candidly admitted this week we've had enough Bushes in the White House, is unamused.
    Reuters/Jason Reed

  • Rescue workers converge Wednesday in Savar, Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment building killed more than 300. Factory owners had ignored police orders to vacate the work site the day before.
    AP/A.M. Ahad

  • Police gather Wednesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor campus officer Sean Collier, who was allegedly killed in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects last week.
    AP/Elise Amendola

  • Police tape closes the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy in Libya Tuesday. The explosion wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage to Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood.
    AP/Abdul Majeed Forjani

  • Protestors rage outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday following the rape of a 5-year-old girl in New Delhi. The girl was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before being abandoned in a locked room for two days.
    AP/Manish Swarup

  • Clarksville, Mo., residents sit in a life boat Monday after a Mississippi River flooding, the 13th worst on record.
    AP/Jeff Roberson

  • Workers pause Wednesday for a memorial service at the site of the West, Tx., fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 14 people and left a crater more than 90 feet wide.
    AP/The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Reel

  • Aerial footage of the devastation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province last Saturday. At least 180 people were killed and as many as 11,000 injured in the quake.
    AP/Liu Yinghua

  • On Wednesday, Hazmat-suited federal authorities search a martial arts studio in Tupelo, Miss., once operated by Everett Dutschke, the newest lead in the increasingly twisty ricin case. Last week, President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and a Mississippi judge were each sent letters laced with the deadly poison.
    AP/Rogelio V. Solis

  • The lighting of Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday is celebrated with (what else but) red, white and blue fireworks.
    AP/David J. Phillip

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments are not enabled for this story.

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
“This could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann”
189 points190 points | 88 comments
vote
Are millennials delusional? New research suggests that members of "Generation Me" are warped by a profound sense of entitlement
33 points34 points | 29 comments
vote
"New evidence reveals big banks still illegally foreclosing on thousands of homes – and weak settlement allows it."
29 points30 points | comment
vote
6 insidious ways you’re getting ripped off … And how to fight back
30 points31 points | 4 comments
vote
"Contrary to the myth of the happy, apple-cheeked great-great-grandmother, cooking has rarely been seen as a source of fulfillment, historically speaking." DIY domesticity, femivores, and refutations on the impacts of feminism on fast-food culture.
31 points32 points | 21 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Shelter Cycle": Raised in a cult

Recommendations