The trial began this week in the first case in the nation in which a high-ranking Catholic official has been charged with allegedly covering up sexual-abuse complaints against priests.
Following opening arguments, the prosecution team began calling witnesses Tuesday in its case against Monsignor William Lynn and the Rev. James Brennan.
Lynn is a former aide to the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and was responsible for handling complaints against Archdiocesan priests. Co-defendant Brennan was accused of raping a boy in the 1990s.
The trial’s Monday start was dubious up until that morning, as defense attorneys requested a delay, citing a sudden guilty plea from a former co-defendant.
Defrocked priest Edward Avery pleaded guilty late last week to several counts stemming from his sexual abuse of a 10-year-old boy. Common Pleas Court Judge Teresa Sarmina sentenced Avery to 30-60 months in prison.
His plea deal could have a significant impact on the case against Lynn, as it includes an admission that Lynn was aware of the abuse and allowed him to remain in active ministry.
However, Sarmina rejected the defense’s request for a preemption.
The judge and both prosecution and defense attorneys met with the jurors and alternates prior to the start of the trial to ensure none had their views on the defendants influenced by Avery’s plea. Two jurors said they had and were replaced by alternates.
Both Lynn and Brennan have pleaded not guilty.
Lynn’s attorney, Thomas Bergstrom, said in his opening statement that it was Bevilacqua, who died in February, one day after Sarmina found him competent to testify in the case, and not Lynn who was responsible for any cover-up.
The prosecution began its case Tuesday with the introduction into evidence of a number of confidential church documents. Among them was a list of 35 active-duty priests that Lynn had compiled who were facing credible abuse allegations.
Defense attorneys argued Lynn followed protocol and sent the list to Bevilacqua, who Bergstrom said ordered it shredded. Prosecutors contend Lynn should have reported those allegations to police.
Other documents included a memo from a counselor Avery worked with following initial abuse allegations who cautioned Lynn that the priest may have had more victims, as well as letters from Lynn to parishioners explaining that Avery was dealing with “health” issues, when he was on leave seeking treatment following the allegations.
Prosecutors sought to put a face to the abuse Wednesday as an alleged victim of an Archdiocesan priest took the stand.
The 36-year-old man testified that he first met the Rev. Francis Trauger in 1991 in a Center City bookstore, when he was 15, and had been looking at gay pornography. He testified that Trauger began stalking him and sexually assaulted him at St. John Neumann High School, and also threatened his family.
Although the witness said his family reported the incident to school officials the following day, he wasn’t contacted by the Archdiocese until more than a decade later.
Trauger’s was one of the cases Lynn was responsible for reviewing.
The trial is expected to last several months.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].