A US man has been arrested for severely beating up
a retired cleric, whom the man claims molested him 30 years ago.
The
priest has in the past denied the charge.
Will Lynch, 44, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly
weapon and was to be released on $A26,000 bail after he tracked down the
65-year-old priest to his retirement home and attacked him, according
to an AP report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The attack occurred in March or April, but police didn't zero in on
Lynch until earlier this month.
The report said Lynch has harboured a
fantasy for years of confronting the priest, who also allegedly molested
his little brother.
The priest's condition or whereabouts weren't immediately known.
He has previously denied abusing the Lynch boys and has not been criminally charged.
Defence lawyer Pat Harris said: "They're saying he took him into a
room and basically beat the hell out of him. They're saying it was
pretty close to beating him to death."
"They're essentially saying that he waited all these years and then
took out his revenge. It's sort of the ultimate revenge story."
The priest has been accused of abuse by nearly a dozen people,
including his own sister and nieces and nephews, both before and after
he was ordained.
SIC: CTH/AUS