William Lynch Found Not Guilty in Beating of Priest He Said Sexually Abused Him

[hue]

Source: abc News

William Lynch, the 44-year-old California man who admitted he pummeled a Jesuit priest who he said abused him as a boy, has been found not guilty of felony assault and elder abuse charges.

The jury of nine men and three women could not reach a verdict on a lesser charge of misdemeanor assault for the 2010 attack at a retirement home, deadlocking 8-4 to convict him.

Lynch could have faced four years in jail if convicted on all the charges.

"I honestly thought I was going to jail," Lynch said after the verdicts were read, according to The Associated Press. "It turned our better than I expected."

The jurors began deliberations late Monday after hearing impassioned closing arguments from both sides.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/william-lynch-acquitted-beating-priest-abused/story?id=16706803#.T_Y9ApGTV8E

[bluestateguy]

1. "Two wrongs don't make a right," she said in her closing arguments on Monday.

No, but it damn sure makes it even.

[awoke_in_2003]

36. It is barbaric, I know...

but I totally agree.

[IndyJones]

66. What about three or more wrongs? Because Lynch was just the last in line of a whole lot of wrongs

by the RCC. How many times was that predator moved from parish to parish and allowed to harm other children?

[siligut]

2. I am betting Jerry Lindner never expected that

Lynch testified last Friday that he visited Lindner with the intention of having the aging Lindner sign a confession, but when the priest "looked up and leered" at him in much the same way he did more than 35 years ago when he sexually abused him, Lynch said he ordered the priest to take off his glasses and hit him.

Adults who abuse children usually have a free ride, I am so glad change seems to be happening.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

3. Clearly, there are times when violence is the answer.

[DearAbby]

5. I don't believe violence is the answer for any rational person

I can definitely see where one can lay rational aside, and pummel the holy crap outta him. And for that, I could vote not guilty, and live with it.

Sometimes Even, is the best we can do.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

12. Never? What about WW II?

[snooper2]

25. Sometimes it is

&feature=related

[-..__...]

30. And to add even more humiliation...

it was recorded and saved for posterity on YouTube.

It should be played at his 20-30-50 year high school reunion just to remind him and his friends whom got punked that day.

[Katashi_itto]

80. You remeber your words if Romeny gets elected and the middle class

disappears, and puts the country up for the ultimate fire sale.

[mzmolly]

17. More appropriately, there are times when our jury system

works.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

20. True. Every once in a while.

[xtraxritical]

24. Violence? So he got in some open hand slaps, compared to what!

[LanternWaste]

69. What specific outcome which could not be achieved in any other way except through violence...

What specific outcome which could not be achieved in any other way except through violence did this particular instance achieve?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

70. Satisfaction to the victim from a sense of justice delivered to the perpetrator. A vicarious sense

of satisfaction to all those who learned about this incident after being aware that the Catholic church and governmental agencies failed not only this man but others as well.

[Archae]

4. It still was wrong.

The old guy may be a pervert, but he deserves to be treated as pererts do, using our prisons.

[siligut]

7. I am thinking it felt real good to Lynch though. nt

[mzmolly]

18. It was not a planned assault.

Sadly, the pervert will not be convicted, given the statute of limitations, to my understanding.

Google the man's story. You'll understand, as the jury did - IMHO.

[MichiganVote]

23. Yeah that's the ticket, leave it to the felons to beat the crap out of him.

[Kolesar]

6. There are a few people who I would beat to a pulp if I knew I could get away with it

violent people

[Brickbat]

8. It's possible to read this story and feel justice has and has not been done here.

It's what makes us human.

[Bucky]

9. I feel for the victim of child abuse. But you can't let people take the law into their own hands

I think the guilty should be punished by law, not by vigilantism. I mean, at this point any member of the priest's family is now equally entitled to go beat the crap out of that sex abuse victim.

[jtuck004]

13. Then maybe there should be some justice b4 they have to. n/t

[IndyJones]

65. Fact is, if that priest's superiors had done the right things decades ago, that wouldn't have

happened. I'm not condoning taking justice into one's own hands, but the poor guy had a lot of pent up anger that the priest had been able to move around from place to place, protected by other priests and allowed to hurt a lot of kids.

That priest's blood is on the hands of those who protected him and allowed him to be a child predator.

[jtuck004]

71. Yup. n/t

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. you can't let people take the law into their own hands? Sure you can.

We now have a breakdown in the law.

Openly-admitted war criminals in this country are walking around free, rich, and happy. Banksters have been given taxpayer bailout and bonuses. Child-molesting priests have been protected by the Catholic church and, until relatively recently, by our legal system which would not investigate complaints seriously.

We have a pay-to-play politicial system. And, at least in some parts of the country and as known by at least some parties, we have a pay-to-play judicial system.

We can't? Yes, we can. All we have to do is do what we have been doing -- step back and do nothing.

[kiranon]

40. Well said. Add to your list the lose of legitimacy of the Supreme Court when

Justices Scalia and Thomas openly meet with the Koch brothers and the majority rules that a corporation is a person. People will take the law into their own hands if they no longer believe the courts/laws are just and impartial.

[KansDem]

58. Not to mention police officers who are liars and violent thugs

[mzmolly]

19. The jury system is the perfect

place to make decisions such as these. It's why we call our system the "justice" system, IMO. Justice was served, in this case. Other than the fact that the priest is in a nursing home vs. prison.

[tru]

26. No, bucky.

The victim was a victim and beat the criminal. The criminal's family doesn't get equal rights to beat the person their family member sexually abused and who is taking delayed revenge, revenge which I am sure doesn't begin to compensate for the harm done,

[antigone382]

38. I don't think the point is that justice was served.

I think the point is that people have their limits. When face to face with someone who abused you at a point when you were weaker than that person, when suddenly in a situation where the tables are turned, where you the memories of those traumas are triggered, a person can lose control. Punishment in such a situation will do nothing to address the underlying causes for the violence. It will only add to the trauma this man has already undergone.

[IndyJones]

67. Like how the RCC took justice into their own hands by covering up and moving predators from parish

to parish and then refusing to cooperate in prosecuting the child predators? Seems like Lynch was just last in line to take the law into his own hands. He had a great example to follow - the RCC.

[TBF]

10. I don't like violence at all BUT in this case

and the case here in Texas where the father found the guy in the act of abusing his 4-yr old and killed the guy - these are special cases.

The most I would do is make sure he get some sort of counseling - even after many years these wounds fester and I'd want to be sure he was getting the support he needed. But I don't think I could vote to convict him given the details.

[hue]

11. No one can pay for the permanent violation of a child.

The child (always present within the adult's character/person) may eventually be able to live with what was done to him/her, but no one can ever fully erase the damage that was done.

While I don 't believe violence is the answer this sends a message that the tide is turning against the institutionalized corruption within the Catholic hierarchy. It means there are some unpredictable results and/or uncontrollable outcomes possible which tells them they are losing control.
(This is also a part of the joy of the Affordable Healthcare Act win! )

[jtuck004]

14. Good for you Lynch. n/t

[Archae]

16. I don't believe this...

I expect remarks like the above at Free Republic, "an eye for an eye...."

Soon everyone is blind.

What if Lynch WASN'T molested?

From what I see in the article, the only evidence of molestation is Lynch's memories.
What if Lynch is only remembering a vivid dream?

I knew a guy at work decades ago who was POSITIVE he had seen Santa Claus, the whole shebang with flying reindeer and sled on the roof.

[mzmolly]

21. Lynch and his brother both have "memories"

as do other victims.

The prosecution didn't even bother to try and deny the abuse took place.

[Art_from_Ark]

29. The article says that the defendant denied molesting the two brothers

[mzmolly]

41. Yes, the defendant (victim in the assault case) denied it. That's often the case. The prosecution

did not deny it ... Could be due to the fact that there were several reported victims and a cover-up?

[Art_from_Ark]

48. I meant to say the priest denied it. He was not the defendant in this particular suit.

The prosecutor sounds like a real piece of work. I certainly would not have wanted her representing me for anything. She did not appear to be too interested in pursuing this case, and she probably prejudiced the jury by claiming in her opening statement that she expected the person she was supposedly representing to lie or claim not to remember things.

[mzmolly]

52. If the prosectuion had denied it, I imagine

the other victims could have been put on the stand?

[wordpix]

57. article also says Lynch got nearly $700,000 in settlement for this in 1997

Priest was obviously guilty, otherwise, no settlement for that large amt

[tru]

27. Archae

I think you and I don't live in the same space-time continuum.

If you read the article, this is not one of those "recovered memory" cases.

[Art_from_Ark]

28. That's what I'm thinking

It sounds like anyone with a 30-year grudge can get away with murder, or at least felony assault, if the reason for the grudge (real or imagined) happens to be one that stirs up so much emotion.

[Douglas Carpenter]

37. I would wonder about that too. Is it a good thing that someone can assault someone on the basis of a

an accusation of events that allegedlytook place 38 years ago? Do we completely abandon the principle of the assumption of innocence if it involves an accusation of something as terrible as what this priest was accused of doing? In this particular case the priest was accused of brutally raping a seven year old and then forcing him to perform oral sex on his four year old brother. That is pretty terrible - if true. But we don't know if this accusation of what was said to have happened in 1974 is true or not. Is it now a good thing if someone assaults someone over say an accusation of murder or any other serious charge that took place a number of decades earlier when no one except the accuser and the accused actually knows what actually happened?

[FedUpWithIt All]

33. There is a sick and long history of abuse associated with the priest.

His own family had reported him.

"Sadly, the incident with Will and his brother was not an isolated one for Father Jerry. Newspaper investigations that have included interviews with Father Jerry's family have produced stories that indicated he had begun abusing his own sister when she was seven and he was eleven. He would later be accused of also molesting and raping his own nieces and nephews.

This pattern of rape and sodomy apparently was uncovered by the Catholic Church as early as the late 1960's when Father Jerry was sent to a Catholic hospital that dealt with sexual deviance. Despite the allegations, Father Jerry was soon placed back in a Jesuit high school in Los Angeles and allowed to teach high school boys. Not surprisingly, stories of young men being molested at the school during the 70's and 80's by Father Jerry were reported to the Catholic Church. Yet Father Jerry continued to teach at Loyola. Finally, in the mid 1990's, Father Jerry's own brother reported him to the Catholic Church for the molestation of his daughter, Father Jerry's niece. "

http://williamlynchdefensefund.com/lindner.html

15 victims have come forward.

[Archae]

34. It sure sounds like "Father Jerry" was really a jerk. To put it mildly.

He should be in jail.

But he did *NOT* deserve to get beat up.

That puts William Lynch approaching "Father Jerry's" level.

But sure thing!
If I ever find the guy who robbed me at gunpoint decades ago, I should have the right to beat the shit out him, right?

[frylock]

43. you are so incredibly off base that it barely merits a response..

but here it is; you sincerely believe that the beatdown administered to this shithole was as bad, or worse than the molestation of these children?! you really want to go on record and make that statement? that is fucking ridiculous.

[Archae]

44. It's not a question of "Is it as bad."

It's a statement saying simply that this is vigilantism.

And that sort of actions always, ALWAYS, leads to tragedy.

[FedUpWithIt All]

55. It was determined that it was NOT vigilantism

That would have require Mr. Lynch seeking out "father" Jerry with the express intention of punishing him. He did NOT seek out "father" Jerry to attack him. The truth is that he was seeking evidence. He was seeking it in an effort to get the legal system to finally punish his attacker.

The violent reaction he had to the sight of his attacker is very in line with PTSD. The person with PTSD has a difficult time distinguishing their current event from a past, dangerous one, when there is a trigger, in this case the "Leering".

Emotional and physiological reactions are very similar to those felt during an actual threat or attack, even when there is no current threat or attack. Mr Lynch's body and mind was likely responding to the "leering" as if he was actually the child being attacked. It is like a delayed self defense in a person with PTSD.

[FedUpWithIt All]

54. I never claimed he should have the right to beat anyone up.

I was just clarifying the history of "father" Jerry after you suggested that he may not be a pedophile.

I do not like vengeance attacks and in no way support their becoming socially acceptable but i also carry enough humility to understand that i am not walking in Mr. Lynch's shoes and have no real right to criticize his state of mind.

Lynch and his brother were victims, even according to "father" Jerry's own attorney, and just like those kids at Penn State, they deserved justice. He sought contact with "father" Jerry in an effort to have this justice brought. He said, and a jury obviously agreed, that he was seeking out his attacker, not to assault him, but to have him sign an admission. The sight of the attacker caused him to have an unplanned violent reaction (a quick read on PTSD explains this)

A court reviewed all of this and he was tried and freed. That works for me.

[sendero]

59. If he goes to jail...

.. he's going to get beat up anyway.

He got off easy.

[christx30]

68. You're right

Father Jerry was a jerk, and he should be in jail.
But it was clear that he would never spend an hour there at all. Thanks to intervention by the RCC, he would get away with his multitude of crimes, and spend the rest of his life happy and content. What should his victims do at that point? Just shrug their shoulders and say, "oh well"? The justice system had failed the victims of the molestation. Simple as that. It failed to protect them from being molested, and it failed to prosecute their tormentor. This man that beat up this man finally got the justice that he had needed to put the pain behind him.

As for the guy that robbed you at gunpoint, if you find him, and the cops say "That man is a respected member of the church, and a good man. He might have done that to you, but we won't charge him. Get over it." even as he is robbing other people, I'd say go for it. If the police won't help you, then you don't owe them any kind of trust.
If we are to trust the justice system, it has to be worthy of trust.

[Marrah_G]

22. I'm glad he isn't going to jail

I do hope he is getting some treatment to deal with it all.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

31. Did anyone shed a tear when Father Geoghan was murdered in prison?

http://articles.cnn.com/2003-08-24/us/geoghan_1_joseph-l-druce-worcester-county-district-attorney-defrocked-roman-catholic-priest?_s=PM:US


Same case with Jeffrey Dahmer as a murderer and cannibal. Murdered by a fellow inmate.

[cstanleytech]

32. This ruling and the viewpoints of some here that it was ok to assualt the guy cause me concern.

Why?
Because imo this is the same dangerous slope of "if you cant get what you want in the courts its ok to take the law into your own hands" which allowed Gitmo and waterboarding to be done.

[Archae]

35. My point exactly.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

39. Actually, the waterboarding at Gitmo was conducted by the government.

Nobody outside of government, not one person, is going to track down those involved in the waterboarding and give them some street justice. It's not going to happen. Ever.

[mzmolly]

42. I don't know that anyone supports the assault, from a legal standpoint.

Last edited Fri Jul 6, 2012, 11:21 PM - Edit history (1)

However, there is a reason we have a jury of our peers (deciding court cases.)

[cstanleytech]

45. Scroll up then as there are plenty to pick from, take the one where

the person said "Clearly, there are times when violence is the answer."

[mzmolly]

46. I took some of the commentary

as sarcasm. That said, what the sexual abuse victim suffered was horrifying. I'm not sure if you're familiar with his story or not? I posted a lonely thread here, that got no attention a while back. *ehem* But there is a link to a video interview provided.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002836919

I have no pity for the aging abuser. The man he reportedly molested (and forced to rape his younger brother) was completely destroyed, as evidenced by his emotional retelling of the events.

[melissaf]

47. If an assailant can avoid jail time

by claiming that his victim sexually abused him, you're going to see a lot of assailants claiming to be sexual abuse victims.

On the flip side: this is one more reason (among many) why you shouldn't sexually abuse kids. It often messes them up for life.

[mzmolly]

51. I don't think it's that simple.

Neither did the jury.

[cstanleytech]

49. No argument if it happened it was horrible but the point is people are being hypocrites.

And alot of these are the same people who have been saying "Oh we want Bush/Cheney to be charged", "Oh gitmo should be closed and they should all be tried before a jury", "Oh waterboarding is torture and Jon Yoo should be disbarred" yet now they advocate and support violence, I mean really it just makes me shake my head in wonder at times.

[mzmolly]

50. I think there is an distiction to be made

though. Cheney and Bush tortured innocent people. The man in question, did not. He confronted someone who tortured him, when he was seven years old.

[cstanleytech]

53. If it was a case of self defense I would agree but it wasnt self defense

it was plain old revenge.

[mzmolly]

60. It was the only form of justice

the sexual assault victim ever received. He went to see his abuser, seeking an apology. He did not set out to strike the man. Call it revenge if you must. But, I'm glad he isn't serving a single day in jail for his understandable, reaction to horrific abuse.

There was a case of a young woman shooting her father after he sexually assaulted her and set sights on her younger sister. She was acquitted as well. "Justice" as it applies to the "justice system" - has meaning at times.

[cstanleytech]

61. Sorry but I dont buy that sugar coating of it being "justice" in any shape or form and

I shall call it exactly what it was which is revenge and the man should have been convicted for it but the jury system failed.
As for him serving time if he had been convicted (which I believe he should have been) I think parole and community service at a homeless shelter for 120 hours would have been about right since the person he committed the crime upon survived.

[mzmolly]

62. What should have happened to the man who

raped him at seven years old and forced him to rape his then four year old brother?

[cstanleytech]

64. The statute of limitations already covers that unless of course if you meant

in a perfect world way in which case it would never have had happened.
Edit: Or if you meant if they had caught him in the first place and charged him all those years ago then he should be in jail but either way the question is moot atm.

[mzmolly]

72. No it's not moot at this point.

It's highly relevant given you took issue with my use of the word "justice."

[cstanleytech]

73. Its moot as far as the law is concerned, if you want to abolish the statute of limitations

Last edited Mon Jul 9, 2012, 11:29 PM - Edit history (1)

for crimes though then by all means go for it.

But lets try this another way.
Say you had a 16 year old daughter who one day took the car without asking you to go meet some friends, on the way home she comes upon a guy on a bike riding on the side of the road and hits him, she gets out runs over to check on him and sees blood all over.
He looks up, sees her face and asks for help but she panics and jumps back into the car and drives away and he is unable to recall any details of the car for the police.
Now 10 years later your daughter is married, has one child with another on the way and she is walking one day across the road at a crosswalk and the guy who your daughter hit and who lost a leg because of it is in a car sees her and he guns his engine and runs her down breaking both her kneecaps.
Now is that justice?

[mzmolly]

75. The "law" ultimately found the

abuse victim innocent of assault. Also, are you suggesting what the priest did is akin to a horrible car accident?

I'm not going to get into all kinds of scenario's with you, other than the relevant one. Let's say your seven year old son was brutally raped by a priest, and forced to rape his four year old brother. Let's say his entire life (as well as his brothers) was negatively impacted. Let's say thirty plus years later, your son still cried when recalling the trauma. Let's say he asked for an apology from his abuser, and when the abuser refused and denied the reality of what happened, your son snapped. Let's say the abuser did not suffer lasting or life threatening injuries. Let's say the priest also abused several other children. Let's say the priest preyed on children, knowing that he would likely get away with it because of the statute of limitations. Let's say the priest is a calculating sociopath who didn't serve a day in jail. ...

[cstanleytech]

76. No, I am trying to get it through your head that just because you believe it is justice does not

in fact make it justice.
Sometimes bad things happen and people like the priest slip through the cracks of our justice system but can we truly call it justice when we ignore our laws when its suits us just because someone slipped through the cracks years ago and cannot be brought to trial for their crimes now?

[mzmolly]

77. Oh don't worry about me.

The jury, already ruled in a fashion that supports my position.

when we ignore our laws when its suits us

The law has spoken, even if you don't care for the results.

[cstanleytech]

78. Actually thats not the law that spoke but rather the jury

spoke and decided that in this case the law could go take a flying leap.
But anyway thats just my opinion but I think we have about worn out this topic and will have to agree to disagree on this topic, I do hope you bear me no hard feelings for not agreeing with you though just like I dont bear any hard feelings to you for not agreeing with me.

[mzmolly]

79. The jury is part of our legal

system. They're the "deciders."

Hard feelings? Moi? Of course not!

Peace.

[FedUpWithIt All]

56. Not vigilatism. PTSD response. Very large difference between the two.

Thankfully the courts recognised this.

Lynch testified that he didn't intend to strike Lindner that day. Instead, he said he wanted to confront Lindner with a written confession of the alleged molestation that he wanted the priest to sign. The Catholic Church has paid out millions to settle lawsuits alleging Lindner sexually abused children, including Lynch when he was 7-years-old, but the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution expired before the allegations were made.

On Friday, Lynch said the priest "leered" at him "with the same look in his eyes" the priest had during the alleged molestation.

"I felt at that point he was a threat to me," Lynch said during sometimes emotional testimony. Lynch said that on "one level" he knew that the smaller, much older priest wasn't a physical threat to him. But he said another part of him reverted to when the priest allegedly assaulted him, and fear took over.

"As a rational adult, I'm not afraid," Lynch said. "But part of me is stuck where I was as a child."

Lynch said after he punched Lindner twice, the retired priest grabbed him by the throat just like he grabbed the 7-year-old Lynch during the alleged molestation in 1975. After scuffling for a few more moments, the incident ended when the receptionist entered the room.

Lynch also turned down a plea deal so that there would be a trial which would actually cover Lindner's crimes, further supporting his claims that he was seeking court justice all along.

[mzmolly]

63. Well

stated.

[alcibiades_mystery]

74. Ahem