Convicted Philly Priest Dies in Prison

Rev. Charles Engelhardt was said to have molested boy in the 1990s.

The Rev. Charles Engelhardt walks from the Criminal Justice Center, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, in Philadelphia. Engelhardt was charged with sexual assaulting an altar boy in northeast Philadelphia in the late 1990s. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Rev. Charles Engelhardt walks from the Criminal Justice Center, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, in Philadelphia. Engelhardt was charged with sexual assaulting an altar boy in northeast Philadelphia in the late 1990s. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Rev. Charles Engelhardt, convicted last year of molesting a young boy during the 1990s, has died in prison. He was appealing the conviction at the time of his death.

NBC10 reports:

Engelhardt died at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, just weeks after the Superior Court heard his appeal. He had been incarcerated at a state prison in Northumberland County.

The accuser said the assaults began after Engelhardt caught him drinking altar wine in the late 1990s, when he was in fifth grade. He said Engelhardt told fellow priest Edward Avery about their “session,” prompting Avery and teacher Bernard Shero to follow suit.

Avery accepted a plea offer, but later denied molesting the boy. Shero was convicted with Engelhardt and is serving an eight- to 16-year term.

The same accuser also helped convict the Monsignor William Lynn; the conviction was reversed. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is scheduled to review that decision today.