PHILADELPHIA – A Roman Catholic church official in the U.S. has left prison after winning an appeal of his landmark conviction in a priest-abuse scandal.
A Pennsylvania prison spokeswoman says Monsignor William Lynn was released Thursday from prison after 18 months.
The 62-year-old Lynn was the first U.S. church official charged for hiding complaints that priests were molesting children. He handled such complaints in Philadelphia from 1992-2004.
READ MORE: Pa. monsignor becomes 1st US Catholic official convicted for covering up abuse complaints
Prosecutors charged him with felony child endangerment. But the appeals court says the law at the time didn’t cover people who don’t directly supervise children.
The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office is taking Lynn to a Philadelphia jail to be fitted with an electronic monitoring device. After that, he’ll be released.
Prosecutors are appealing the Superior Court ruling.
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