The case for which the monsignor was convicted involved an accusation from a man who said that two priests and a parochial school teacher sexually abused him when he was a 10-year-old altar boy. The accuser, known in court records under the pseudonym "Billy Doe," alleged abuse that took place in the 1998-1999 school years.
Msgr. Lynn had allowed one of the accused priests, Fr. Edward V. Avery, to live at the rectory of Philadelphia's St. Jerome Catholic Church despite a history of sexually abusing children. Avery, now 73, pled guilty to the charges involving Doe in March 2012 and is still serving his prison sentence. He was laicized in 2006.
The other priest accused of abuse was the late Father Charles Engelhardt, who died in prison in 2014 at the age of 67. He was still appealing his prison sentence of six to 12 years.
The other man accused was parochial school teacher Bernard Shero, now 53, who is serving a sentence of eight to 16 years.
In January 2013, Avery was a witness at Englehardt's and Shero's trial. But he recanted his plea and said he pled guilty only to avoid a longer prison term. He denied knowing his accuser, Englehardt, and Shero.
The alleged victim who accused the three men is now 28. At the trial defense attorneys strongly questioned his history of drug use, lies, crimes, and discrepancies between his trial testimony and his initial statements to police and church investigators.
The accuser rejected claims he had made false accusations and said his drug and emotional problems were due to the abuse he suffered.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys will have to decide how to use the new revelations and claims.
Bergstrom said he has since acquired previously unavailable reports from investigators and forensic psychiatrists that cast doubt on the credibility of the accuser's allegations.