Jury, Reporting Deadlock, Resumes Deliberations in Philadelphia Church Sex Abuse Trial
The jury in the child sex abuse case of Philadelphia Monsignor William Lynn was ordered to resume deliberations on Wednesday after saying it was deadlocked on most of the charges facing the highest-ranking U.S. clergyman to stand trial in the Roman Catholic church’s pedophilia scandal.
The jury, in its 12th day of deliberations, cited its dilemma in a note to Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina that read: “We the jury are at a hung jury status on all charges except for one.”
“Please advise us as to our next step,” it said.
The judge, who read the note aloud in the courtroom, conferred with prosecutors and defense attorneys and sent the jurors back to continue trying to reach a verdict.
“I don’t know what the problem is,” the judge said to attorneys after the jury left the courtroom.
Lynn, 61, is accused of conspiracy and child endangerment. Prosecutors say in his job overseeing hundreds of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, he covered up child sex abuse allegations, often by transferring priests named in the claims to unsuspecting parishes.
Also on trial is the Reverend James Brennan, accused of child endangerment and attempted rape of a 14-year-old in 1996.