Man convicted of child rape is freed early

PHILADELPHIA— A former Catholic school teacher convicted of raping a child was released more than a decade early from prison on Wednesday after a judge threw out his conviction amid questions about his accuser’s truthfulness.

Rather than face a new trial, however, Bernard Shero, 54, pleaded no contest on Monday to less serious child rape and assault charges and was sentenced to the roughly four years in prison he’s already served. He originally was sentenced in 2013 to up to 16 years.

The accuser had helped to convict three other church officials, including a monsignor who became the first to be criminal ly charged for mishandling complaints about sexualabuse by priests.

The accuser said he was sexually assaulted by Shero and two priests when he was an altar boy in the late 1990s.

One of the priests, Edward V. Avery, pleaded guilty in 2012 but has since recanted his confession. The other, the Rev. Charles Engelhard, died in prison while appealing his conviction.

The accuser’s testimony also was linked to a child endangerment conviction of Monsignor William Lynn, the first church official charged over the mishandling of abuse records. Lynn’s conviction has since been overturned.

Bathroom bill dies again

AUSTIN, Texas — A bill to restrict which bathroom transgender people can use in public buildings and schools died in the Texas Legislature on Tuesday evening, a rare defeat for social conservatives in a state they usually dominate.

The failure of the so-called bathroom bill at the end of a special legislative session was the second time in three months that the bill had fallen short.

The failure of the Texas bill was met with relief by LGBT rights activists, who were joined by business groups in opposing the measure.

New claim against Polanski

A third woman has come forward to accuse film director Roman Polanski of sexual abuse when she was a minor. The woman, who was identified only as Robin, held a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday with attorney Gloria Allred. She said that Polanski “sexually victimized” her in 1973, when she was 16. She is now 59.

In 1977, Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with Samantha Geimer when she was 13. He fled the country before his sentencing in 1978. His lawyers have been fighting to lift an international arrest warrant, and he has not returned to the U.S. since it has been in effect.

Also in the nation ...

Alabama’s famed Ten Commandments judge, Roy Moore, has forced a Senate primary runoff with president-backed incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, setting up a September showdown that could be closely watched for clues about Republicans’ prospects in 2018 midterm elections. ... Democratic Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed into law what advocates called the nation’s most progressive reproductive health policy, expanding access to abortion and birth control at a time when the Trump administration and other states are trying to restrict them. ... Convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo’s six life sentences, for the six Montgomery County, Md., slayings he committed as a 17year-old in 2002, were allowed to stand Tuesday by a Montgomery judge, who found that Malvo was not given mandatory life terms, which the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled are unconstitutional for juveniles. News updates: postgazette.com/nationworld