Christina Smith, a spokeswoman for the family of the man accused of beating up Los Gatos priest Jerold Lindner, and Joey Piscitelli, with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, addressed media questions Thursday morning related to the high-profile
San Francisco resident William Lynch, 43, is accused of assaulting Jesuit Jerold Lindner at the Los Gatos Sacred Heart Jesuit Center May 10, 2010. Lynch says Lindner raped and sodomized him and his brother when they were 7 and 4 years of age in the 1970's while on camping trips.
Lynch has plead not guilty to one count of felony assault with the intent to cause great bodily injury and one count of elder abuse under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death.
On Wednesday, the start of the trial, Lindner took the stand and denied under oath molesting the boys. However, during opening statements, Santa Clara County Deputy Vicki Gemetti told the jury Lindner had molested Lynch some 30-plus years ago. The statement and Lindner's testimony made defense attorney Pat Harris call for perjury charges.
On Thursday morning, Debbie Lukas, who claims Lindner also sexually molested her while on the same camping trips, lashed out at him as he was being walked into the courtroom for a second day of testimony and cross-examination by the defense.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena canceled the trial until Monday at 10 a.m. and asked the attorneys to meet with him at 1:30 p.m. Friday to discuss some legal issues related to the case, which he would not reveal. The prosecutor and Harris declined comment.
"One of the key things to recognize in this case is that with the statute of limitations closings so long ago, the victims have never been able to confront Father Jerry [Lindner]. The Jesuits have sequestered him away; have moved him from town to town, from parish to parish and from school to school allowing him access to more and more victims. Now those victims are coming forward and it's a very emotional situation," Smith said.
Wednesday, Smith said, was the first day Lindner appeared in a courtroom despite more than $2 million worth of settlements against him and 12 alleged victims.
