Sex Abuse Victim Savagely Attacks Priest

A California man who accused a Catholic priest of sexually abusing him as a child has been arrested after savagely beating the cleric in the lobby of his retirement home, police report. William Lynch, 43, said he dreamed for years of exacting revenge on the man he charged molested him and his brother 35 years ago during church-led camping trips. Lynch confronted the Rev. Jerold Lindner, 65, in his Los Gatos retirement home, and punched him repeatedly when the priest said he didn't recognize him, reports the New York Daily News. "They're saying it was pretty close to beating him to death, " said Lynch's attorney.

Lynch and his brother were paid $625,000 by the Jesuits to settle a sex abuse lawsuit 12 years ago. The boys were 5 and 7 years old when they were raped in the woods and forced to have oral sex with each other, said Lynch's lawyer. The retired priest has been accused of sex assault by a dozen people, including his sister, nieces and nephews. Lindner was released from a local hospital after treatment, and Lynch has been booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. "I wanted to exorcise all of the rage and bitterness he put into me," said Lynch. "He stole my innocence and destroyed my life."

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