Assistant District Attorney Patrick Blessington bristled that Lynn was not entitled to house arrest under the law and did not deserve it, in part, because he and his attorneys last week told the judge that he did not have a passport when he actually did. The passport was handed over during Tuesday's hearing.
"It's incomprehensible that he wouldn't get the maximum sentence," added Blessington, who gave Sarmina a Chicago Tribune article about 32 Catholic priests who fled justice after being arrested since 1985.
Click on the following for more details: Convicted priest may get house arrest - Philly.com
The Tribune article quoted above is paraphrased below along with its web location:
Since 1985, at least 32 Roman Catholic priests have left the United States for foreign countries while facing criminal charges or a police investigation over allegations that they sexually assaulted or abused minors, according to federal warrants, news reports and law enforcement sources. Only five have been returned to the U.S. to face trial; some died abroad. The number of fugitive priests grows by more than two dozen if it includes those who left the country while facing internal church probes or civil allegations of child sex misconduct, instead of a criminal investigation, and those who were transferred to foreign countries by church authorities before or after allegations surfaced. Many have maintained their innocence. Authorities also have pursued religious leaders from other faith traditions who fled the U.S. amid abuse allegations.
Click here for Tribune: Fugitives from justice: Roman Catholic priests
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