The District Attorney’s office this week arrested four Philadelphia Archdiocesan priests and one lay teacher in connection with the sex abuse of two boys and subsequent alleged cover-up.
On Feb. 10, DA Seth Williams, following a grand-jury investigation, announced rape and sexual assault charges against the Revs. Edward Avery, 68, Charles Engelhardt, 64, and James Brennan, 47.
Avery and Engelhardt are accused of assaulting a 10-year-old boy at St. Jerome’s School in the Northeast between 1998-99. Teacher Bernard Shero, 48, is also charged with assaulting the same student the following year. Brennan, who also worked at St. Jerome’s, is accused of assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Newtown in 1996.
Also arrested last week was Monsignor William Lynn, the Archdiocesan secretary for clergy under former Archbishop Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child for the role he allegedly played in allowing the abuse to go unchecked.
In his former role with the Archdiocese, Lynn, who has served at St. Joseph’s Church in Downingtown since 2004, was in charge of investigating reports of priests’ sex abuse from 1992-2004. According to the DA, the grand jury found that Lynn “knowingly allow[ed] dangerous priests to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to children.”
The grand jury found that, before their assignments to St. Jerome’s, both Avery and Brennan had previously been accused of child sex abuse, which Lynn was aware of.
Barbara Dorris, outreach director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Thursday she’s hopeful that the charges brought against the five men “will cause prosecutors across the U.S. to examine their consciences and work harder to file similar charges against others in the Catholic hierarchy who continue to put the reputations of church officials ahead of the safety of innocent children.”
In addition to recommending charges against the five men, the grand jury also recommended the Archdiocese undertake a complete overhaul of its sexual-abuse investigation process.
Archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali said Thursday that the Archdiocese has not yet had the opportunity to review the full grand-jury report, but that he will “take very seriously any observations and recommendations of this grand jury.”
“I also welcome the opportunity for ongoing collaboration with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in the vital work of protecting children,” Rigali said. “At this moment, as people of faith we much reach out in compassion and support for one another and for all who are affected by this news. Victims of sexual abuse by clergy may find this news deeply painful. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. It is in this spirit that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is cooperating fully with the civil authorities in this and all related matters.”
If convicted, Lynn could face up to 14 years in prison, while the other four individuals face a maximum of 67 years of imprisonment.
Dorris urged others who may have been victimized by the defendants or other clergy members to come forward.
“Now is not the time to be complacent,” she said. “There’s no guarantee that these charges will stick. Often, accused priests get top-notch lawyers, seem likeable, exploit technicalities and evade punishment. So it’s critical that others with suspicions or knowledge contact law enforcement right away.”