Edward Avery, Former Priest, Made 10-Year-Old Boy Do Striptease, Witness Says

File photo of former priest, Edward Avery

A witness testified that a former priest of the Philadelphia Archdiocese made him engage in various sexual acts when he was a 10-year-old altar boy.

WARNING: explicit, sexual language below.

The New Civil Rights Movement points to a Reuters report on a now 23-year-old witness who said Edward Avery forced him to perform a striptease.

"I was swaying back and forth and took off my clothes," the witness said, according to Reuters.

The testimony came during the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, former secretary of the clergy, who is charged with child endangerment and conspiracy. The prosecution claims Lynn tried to cover up abuse accusations made against priests, some of whom were simply transferred to other parishes, Reuters reports.

The witness also said Avery told him that "God loves me, this is what God wants, and it was time for me to become a man," according to CNN.

From CNN:

The boy, now in his 20s, was in the fifth grade when Avery undressed with him in a small storage room, told him that God loved him, had him engage in oral intercourse and then ejaculated on him.

Avery previously pleaded guilty to non-voluntary deviant sexual intercourse and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child.

Another witness claimed he was also abused by Avery.

"He had a lot of charisma," the witness said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He was very popular with young people."

The Daily Mail previously reported on an internal document that Lynn is accused of hiding, which says a Philadelphia priest joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[globalguy]

06:52 PM on 05/02/2012

When men are forced or take a vow to remain celibate they pray on those that are weakest around them - whether they be vulnurable young males (alter boys, troubled youth, etc) or women (nuns, those vulnurable women going through a divorce or difficult time, etc).

This has been the history of abuse in the preisthood since day 1 of this vow.

It simply isn't natural or godlike for man to be non sexual.

[ema2]

03:25 PM on 06/26/2012

According to the Caths, NO one is forced to be celibate, but I don't understand why these priests still can't marry in this day and time either, although they claim priests do and can.

[NoBibleNeeded]

11:23 AM on 05/02/2012

And this is why Im Atheist...lol... We understand that no matter what position a person is placed in, a person is going to be who they are whoever they are! #nobibleneeded

[ema2]

03:27 PM on 06/26/2012

NoBibleNeeded,
Preying upon children has NOTHING to do with being an atheist or non-atheist, it has to do with a person's sick and twisted way of thinking. If 'you' believe that an atheist could never be a pedophile, 'you're' seriously deluding yourself.

[JustinLillich]

05:34 PM on 05/01/2012

I have never been Catholic, nor would I ever be. That being said, the men who take up the mantle of the clergy are human. They live by a code that was created by other humans, not by God. Catholic monasticism has no foundation in the Bible that I can see. These men have allowed their urges out into the open. They have acted on them through their humanity, not through any kind of direction from God. I truly pray that the public (non-believers in particular) can see that these folks in the RCC are humans with terrible problems. The church itself, hiding the way they have, should be taken to task in the same way we would to any other political organization (which is just what the Catholic Church is...)

[Chris7781]

09:47 AM on 05/02/2012

The bible teaches that women and children are the property of men and that men are closer to god and should therefor not be questioned in their positions of authority. there is no humanity in pedophiles - they are sick and they are spurned on (even if not created by) by a religion that puts them front and center, living everyday in a self-centered bubble - never asked to consider women and children as anything more than church property or fodder for their sexual desires. The church has created a masculinity that allows and even encourages objectification - don't let it off the hook so easily. We cannot solve the problem of pedophiles in our communities without addressing the role that religion plays in putting men in a role of automatic authority.

[JustinLillich]

10:28 AM on 05/03/2012

Corporations do the same thing. They put people in positions of power that may have certain proclivities toward sexual immorality. Everyone already thinks they're already evil, though. You're correct that the church has created this form of masculinity, but the Bible doesn't. It's the modes of interpretation that humans have used that are the true culprit.

[ema2]

03:33 PM on 06/26/2012

Chris7781,
Yes blame, God, Jesus, etc. for mankind's (and the devil which I know, you don't believe in, got it) ills, we're so good at doing that rather than lying the blame right at our own door. How many times in how many ways has the Lord asked us NOT to do something for our own good, but stupid us decide to do it any way and suffer the terrible consequences for those actions?? We're so good at putting the blame on God and Jesus it's amazing isn't it, when 'we' could have stopped the majority of what happened to us by listening to 'Them' who Know better, but as Dr. Phil says and I agree, "how's that working for you so far"???

[mcmutter]

04:01 PM on 05/01/2012

Young and darkly handsome, Sylvester Wiejata had an eye for the ladies, especially married ones.

Problem was, Wiejata was a priest.

This morning a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury listened to the grand jury testimony of Msgr. William J. Lynn as he tried to explain his alleged failure to act as Wiejata’s sexual overtures went from married women to single women in their 20s and, ultimately in August 2000, allegations that he had fondled the 13-year-old daughter of a woman with whom he had an affair.

As secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, Lynn, 61, was the Archdiocesan official responsible for investigating allegations of sexual abuse by priests. Charged with endangering the welfare of children. He is the first Catholic church official to be criminally prosecuted in a landmark trial focusing on the sexual abuse of children by some priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese.

[davesny302]

08:35 AM on 05/01/2012

The Catholic Church is doing an awesome job with destroying people from a young age.

[JustinLillich]

05:28 PM on 05/01/2012

Here Here!

[JustinLillich]

05:37 PM on 05/01/2012

I have met so many people who have stood through Mass after Mass as a child only to abandon Faith as a whole when they become adults. So sad that such an organization spreads fear, boredom, and hate like this.

[KidSafeMoms]

05:38 AM on 05/01/2012

All these stories turn my stomach - day after day there are so many child abuse cases in the media - So many more not shared in the media, and even more not known about because the child is to afraid to tell. Don't you think we owe our children the right to learn at a young age prevention education - when every 10 seconds a child is abused, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will report being sexually exploited before the age of 18 - those are the ones that report..most do not! Child abuse is an epidemic and the world needs to start treating it as one. Our children are precious, innocent and the future leaders of our world. They deserve the right to be safe!

[mcmutter]

04:02 PM on 05/01/2012

10 and 12 year old boys and girls are still children ....

[ema2]

03:41 PM on 06/26/2012

KidSafeMoms,
I totally agree with you, I think parents should tell their children (when they're 'young' enough to understand, maybe even at 2, 3, or 4 years old) that if 'anyone' (male or female) touches them in their private areas (and don't be afraid to point to it so that the children will know), tries to do anything to them that makes them 'feel' bad, tells them to 'not tell mommy or daddy', etc. for that child to come and tell "right away" no matter what. If they have to 'yell, kick, scream', etc. to get away from that person, I say tell them to do just that.

[mcmutter]

04:59 PM on 04/30/2012

BOSTON ...In October 2011, the bishop of Kansas City, Robert Finn, and the diocese he leads were indicted by a county grand jury for failing to report suspected child abuse involving a priest who had been accused of taking lewd photographs of young girls. The indictment is the first ever of a Catholic bishop related to the scandal.

In November, in a deal to avoid a second round of criminal charges, Bishop Finn agreed to meet monthly with a county prosecutor to detail every suspicious episode involving abuse of a child in his diocese for the next five years. The agreement between Bishop Finn and Daniel White, the prosecuting attorney, leaves the bishop open to prosecution for misdemeanor charges for five years if he does not continue to meet with the prosecutor and report all episodes.

The case of the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, who was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of taking indecent photographs of young girls, generated fury at Bishop Finn, already a polarizing figure in his diocese, and prompted widespread calls for him to resign.

Stoking much of the anger was the fact that three years previously, Bishop Finn had settled lawsuits with 47 plaintiffs in sexual abuse cases for $10 million and agreed to a long list of preventive measures, among them to immediately report anyone suspected of being a pedophile to law enforcement authorities.

[peterochocinco]

05:09 AM on 04/30/2012

I grew up Catholic and was not abused. I am the 99.9%

[mcmutter]

07:32 AM on 04/30/2012

$144 million paid out to victims in lawsuits ....

check the facts ...

the Philadelphia trial is teaching us all plenty ......

[peterochocinco]

01:59 PM on 04/30/2012

Where do you get your facts? In the past 10 years, since 2002, no organization has done more to protect youth from molestation.

68% of the allegations made this year happened between the years of 1965-1984. 21 cases were reported this year with current minors, only 7 of which were found credible by law enforcement. One is too many, but 7 legitimate allegations out of the tens of millions of people in the Catholic Church is hardly newsworthy. Many of those priests who were found to have molested children are either dead, removed from the priesthood, or just plain missing. (http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=14562)

290,000 students in public schools experienced some kind of physical abuse between the years of 1991-2000. Just for comparison. You are 100x more likely to suffer abuse in public schools than the Catholic Church. (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1094835/posts)

So I want to see you comment about that problem 100 times more than you bring it up in reference to the Catholic Church. Look at the actual numbers before you buy into the anti-Catholic hatred spewed by the mainstream media.

This is a story about a child molester, which is never okay. This is even a story about a cover up. This is NOT a story about what is wrong with the Catholic Church, because child molestation happens just as frequently in Protestant churches where the pastors are allowed to marry, and other institutions.

[ema2]

03:42 PM on 06/26/2012

peterochocinco,
Then you were one of the ones that 'got away' then, be grateful to God for that much, but think about and pray for the others.

[NHBill]

04:37 PM on 04/29/2012

THE thing to remember when reading about these RC Church child abuse cases is ALL of the Catholic clergy KNEW it was going on!!
All of them.
And not One called 911!
It was only when the brave victims began to step forward was this all blown wide open!
From the Pope to Sister Mary Kathleen at the parish school, They All Knew!

[pbrunda]

08:43 PM on 04/29/2012

That has troubled me, also. The vow of obedience must be violated under these conditions. It makes you wonder what else has gone on behind the walls of the Vatican and within the confines of the church. It is ironic that the Vatican has chosen this time to challenge American nuns.

[Asmondius]

12:29 PM on 04/30/2012

If you feel the urge to speculate, at least try to make it seem partly realisitc.

[Eileen Warren]

02:28 AM on 05/04/2012

It's called deflection-create a problem to overshadow a problem.

[mcmutter]

07:33 AM on 04/30/2012

Na.zi prison guards were onlt following orders ....

[Asmondius]

12:29 PM on 04/30/2012

And...?

[stupid humans]

02:52 PM on 04/29/2012

burn these priests at the stake.....just a lick of true hellfire...:)

[JustinLillich]

05:37 PM on 05/01/2012

Wow... Real Spanish Inquisition fodder!

[stupid humans]

07:22 PM on 05/01/2012

to quote "another religion" thats Karma...

[CraigR]

02:21 PM on 04/29/2012

When is the RC Church ever going to start using the punishment prescribed in their sacred book for this type of behavior?

[Asmondius]

12:30 PM on 04/30/2012

And what is that?

[CraigR]

05:13 PM on 04/30/2012

Death.

[dogtac69]

12:52 AM on 05/01/2012

CraigR

Good question.
F&F

[pbrunda]

01:03 PM on 04/29/2012

Try removing the anti-gay comment of stripes 3325.

[pbrunda]

12:56 PM on 04/29/2012

Please remove the bigoted, prejudicial comment of stripes3325 posted 13 hours ago.

[pbrunda]

12:52 PM on 04/29/2012

The audacity of huffpost to allow anti-gay comments to be posted is atrocious.

[pbrunda]

12:38 PM on 04/29/2012

Moderators, how do you allow a statement, "Gays will be gays. Typical and predictable," to be posted? It is bigoted and offensive and should have been flagged immediately. Yet, when I have tried to comment, it had not been posted. That comment should be immediately removed.

[Lily Stormcrow]

02:12 PM on 04/29/2012

This is what the report button is for, dear. Please don't spam the comments section.

[pbrunda]

02:48 PM on 04/29/2012

The report button is not available by mobile, dear, or I would.

[Asmondius]

12:31 PM on 04/30/2012

Oh boy, who is quick to hit the 'delete' key when their own ox is gored?

[dogtac69]

12:53 AM on 05/01/2012

Asmondius

Asmondius.