OPINION BY BENDER, P.J.

Appellant, Monsignor William J. Lynn, appeals from the judgment of sentence of 3-6 years' incarceration, imposed following his conviction under the pre-amended version of the endangering the welfare of children (EWOC) statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304 (amended 2007).1 Appellant presents ten questions for our review, generally falling into four categories. First, Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction by arguing, inter alia, that his conduct was not within the reach of the EWOC statute, either as a principal or an accomplice. Second, he claims the trial court abused its discretion by improperly admitting evidence of twenty-one instances of prior bad acts. Third, Appellant asserts the trial court abused its discretion by improperly charging the jury. Fourth, he claims the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for a mistrial following prosecutorial misconduct that occurred during the Commonwealth's closing argument. After careful review, we reverse.

Factual Background

Appellant served as Secretary for Clergy ("Secretary") for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia ("Archdiocese") from June of 1992 until June of 2004. "During his tenure as Secretary ..., in addition to solving disputes among priests, and ensuring that parishes were filled with enough priests, [Appellant]'s responsibilities included handling clergy sexual abuse issues." Trial Court Opinion (TCO), 4/12/13, at 3. In his capacity as Secretary, Appellant did not have direct authority to transfer, remove, or even restrict the nature of a priest's ministry.2 Such powers rested with the Archbishop. Nevertheless, Appellant "was the sole `funnel' for information concerning clergy sex abuse, and it was his office alone that could pass on vital information about priests and their young victims up the chain of command." TCO, at 4.

Appellant was one of a limited number of church officials with access to the Archdiocese's Secret Archives, a repository of information regarding any major infraction committed by a priest within the Archdiocese. In 1994, Appellant's investigation into allegations concerning an active priest, whom he found to have had engaged in serious past misconduct as documented within the Secret Archives, prompted Appellant "to conduct a comprehensive review of the priests within the Archdiocese[.]" Id. at 5. Appellant identified thirty-five priests who had previously been accused of sexual misconduct against minors and classified them into three categories: 1) `pedophiles,' 2) priest `guilty of sexual conduct with minors,' and 3) priests subject to `allegations of sexual misconduct with minors with no conclusive evidence.' Id.

The first name that appeared under the heading `guilty of sexual conduct with minors' was that of Reverend Edward V. Avery ("Avery"). In March of 1992, R.F. wrote to Appellant's predecessor, Monsignor Jagodzinski, regarding sexual abuse he suffered at Avery's hands during the 1970's when R.F. was an adolescent. In the letter, R.F. complained that Avery's abuse had "wreaked emotional havoc" on him as a youth, and he wrote to Jagodzinski out of concern for others that might be victimized. However, Jagodzinski was in the process of ending his term as Secretary, and R.F. did not receive a response until Appellant discovered the letter when he began his term as Secretary a few months later. After reading R.F.'s letter, Appellant arranged to meet with him in September of 1992.

At that meeting, attended by R.F., Appellant, and Reverend Joseph R. Cistone, R.F. "divulged the details of his relationship with Avery and how he was victimized." Id. at 7. The trial court reported R.F.'s allegations as follows:3

Id. at 7-8 (internal citations to the record omitted). After the September, 1992 meeting, R.F. sought assurances from Appellant that Avery would not be permitted to harm anyone else. Appellant reassured R.F., telling him that "the Archdiocese's `order of priorities is the victim, the victim's family, the Church, and the priest himself.'" Id. at 8.

A week later, Appellant met with Avery. At that meeting:

Id. at 8 — 9.

Following R.F.'s allegations and Avery's tepid denials, Appellant "recommended that Avery be sent to an Archdiocese-affiliated mental health facility, St. John Vianney[5], for a four-day outpatient evaluation, starting on November 30, 1992." Id. at 9.

Id. at 10-11.

Appellant's first recommendation for Avery's reassignment within the Archdiocese did not conform to Dr. Pellegrini's advice; Appellant suggested that Avery be placed as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Ransom, a parish with a grade school. Appellant justified the placement in a letter to Monsignor Molloy7 ("Molloy") based upon the fact that Avery had not been diagnosed as a pedophile, and because the priest at that parish had agreed to "work with a priest who requires some supervision." N.T., 3/27/12, at 51. Nevertheless, Cardinal Bevilacqua, the Archbishop, rejected Appellant's recommendation, and instead suggested that Appellant find a chaplaincy for Avery. Appellant obliged, and soon found an opening for Avery as a chaplain at Nazareth Hospital.

Although chaplains were able to reside at Nazareth Hospital, Appellant successfully petitioned the Cardinal to permit Avery to live in a rectory at St. Jerome's Church pursuant to Avery's request. In a letter dated December, 2, 1993, Cardinal Bevilacqua appointed Avery to the chaplaincy at Nazareth Hospital and residency at St. Jerome's, effective December 13, 1993. Father Joseph Graham ("Graham"), St. Jerome's pastor, was the only church official at St. Jerome's alerted regarding Avery's abuse of R.F. Graham was told by the Archdiocese that Avery "was not to be around children and was to live in the parish, be around other priests, and minister to the local hospital." N.T., 5/23/12, at 50. On February 18, 1994, Appellant placed Avery's name on the list of priests `guilty of sexual conduct with minors,' demonstrating his belief that R.F.'s accusations against Avery were truthful. TCO, at 13; N.T., 3/27/12, at 15.

In the first year following Avery's discharge from St. John Vianney, Avery saw a psychologist from that institution on a weekly basis. That psychologist notified Appellant on at least two occasions that Avery's aftercare integration team was slow to organize and that, afterwards, the group only met with Avery sporadically.8 Then, in late November of 1994, Father Graham contacted Appellant and notified him that Avery had been working as a disc jockey at weddings. Around the same time, Appellant was notified by another chaplain at Nazareth Hospital, Father Kerper, that Avery "keeps accepting many outside commitments, especially on weekends. These commitments usually entail weddings or events where he is the disc jockey." N.T., 3/27/12, at 67. Those commitments had caused some discord with the hospital and with his fellow chaplains, the latter being repeatedly asked by Avery to cover his weekend shifts. In a follow up letter, Father Kerper also indicated that Avery was scheduled to perform as a disc jockey at a dance at St. Jerome's in December of 1994.9

In December of 1994, Avery met with his aftercare integration team (consisting of Appellant, Graham, and another priest) and his outpatient care providers from St. John Vianney. At that meeting, Avery was told by Appellant that he was committing too much time to his disc jockey activities. Appellant told Avery that Avery "must make a success of [the chaplaincy] assignment because he will never be assigned to parish work." Id. at 69. Appellant's notes of the meeting went on to state:

N.T., 3/27/12, at 69-70 (Commonwealth's Exhibit C-59 read into the record).

On February 22, 1995, Appellant received a letter from Avery's psychologist notifying him that she had agreed to decrease the frequency of Avery's sessions at Avery's request. She wrote that "this treatment approach for Father Avery continues to be positive and I anticipate he will continue to progress toward the goals we have discussed[,]" but noted that "[i]f he appears to be having difficulty" complying with his treatment regimen under the revised schedule, "the frequency of his sessions will increase according to need." Commonwealth's Exhibit C-60. Father Kerper repeatedly raised concerns about Avery's shirking of his duties as chaplain at Nazareth Hospital until September 27, 1995. At that time, however, Appellant "instructed Father Kerper to convey his concerns about Avery to his supervisor at Nazareth Hospital, not to the Secretary for Clergy." TCO, at 15.

From the time R.F.'s accusations first came to light in 1992 until 1996, R.F. repeatedly wrote to Appellant to inquire about how the Archdiocese was dealing with Avery. For instance, on September 17, 1996, R.F. e-mailed Appellant and therein stated, "I'm not asking for details[,] what I want to know is[,] is he rehabilitated or in a situation where he can't harm others. Will the diocese vouch for the safety of its children. For my peace of mind I need to know." TCO, at 15 (quoting Commonwealth's Exhibit C-75). There was no evidence that Appellant ever responded to R.F.'s email. Detective Joseph Walsh, an investigator who "culled and compiled records of the Archdiocese[,]" testified that as of September of 2002, "there were no documents suggesting that the defendant followed up on R.F.'s concern for other victims." TCO, at 16.

In 1997, Appellant made efforts "to help advance [Avery's] career." Id. Avery wrote the Cardinal to ask for a letter of recommendation in order to pursue a doctoral degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia. The letter was passed on to Appellant by the Cardinal's representative with instructions to handle the matter as the Cardinal's delegate. The trial court described the content of that letter and Appellant's follow-up with Avery as follows:

TCO, at 16 (internal citations omitted).

Avery remained in outpatient treatment with St. John Vianney therapists until 1998, and had regularly attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for the first two years after his discharge in 1993. Nevertheless, after meeting with Avery in April of 1998, Appellant expressed concerns about Avery's rehabilitation. In a note placed in Avery's Secret Archive file, Appellant wrote that Avery was "minimiz[ing] his experience ... and the allegations against him." TCO, at 17 (quoting Commonwealth's Exhibit C-83). During the April, 1998 meeting, Appellant told Avery that he would not recommend him for a position in another diocese because such a recommendation would require Appellant to certify that the priest seeking the transfer "has not had allegations against him." Id.

In the fall of 1998, D.G., a ten-year-old boy just beginning the fifth grade, commenced training to serve as an altar boy at St. Jerome's. D.G. was also a student at St. Jerome's grade school. He advanced quickly in his training and, by the end of his first semester that year, he was a "full-fledged altar boy." TCO, at 17. D.G. began assisting the priests of St. Jerome with Mass both on weekends and before school on weekdays. He received a schedule from the parish on which he and the other altar boys were given their Mass assignments up to a month in advance.

D.G. recalled serving Mass with four priests: Graham, Avery,10 Englehardt, and McBride. At some point during the winter of 1998 to 1999, Englehardt began sexually abusing D.G. after Masses.11 Englehardt referred to these events as "sessions." In early 1999, D.G. encountered Avery inside the church after school on a Friday. Avery pulled D.G. aside and told him that he heard about D.G.'s "sessions" with Father Englehardt, and that "ours were going to begin soon." N.T., 4/25/12, at 126. A week later, D.G. was serving weekend Mass with Avery when Avery told him to stay after the service because their "sessions" were going to begin.

As Mass ended that day and the parishioners cleared out, D.G. and another altar boy began cleaning up. Eventually the other altar boy left, leaving D.G. alone with Avery.12 Avery took D.G. into the sacristy,13 turned music on, and ordered D.G. to striptease for him. Avery then fondled D.G.'s penis and performed oral sex on him. Avery also penetrated D.G.'s anus with his finger. He then ordered D.G. to perform oral sex on him. Eventually, Avery ejaculated on the boy's neck and chest. D.G. recalled that Avery told him "[t]hat I'm doing good. God loves me. This is what God wants, and it's time for me to become a man." N.T., 4/25/12, at 132. Two weeks later, after D.G. served Saturday Mass with Avery, Avery subjected D.G. to another "session." D.G. was sexually abused in a similar fashion as the previous occasion, with the additional indignity of having Avery lick his anus. Afterward, Avery told D.G. that he did a good job, God loved him, and that Avery would be seeing him again soon. Id. at 140.

Avery did not abuse D.G. after the second incident, as D.G. found ways to avoid Avery by switching his scheduled Masses with other altar boys. Nevertheless, the effect of the sexual abuse committed by Avery was devastating. "Leading up to his sixth grade year, D.G. had become withdrawn and began using drugs. Alcohol and marijuana [abuse] gave way to [abuse] of Percocet[], Oxycontin, and Xanax, until D.G. developed a full blown heroin addiction." TCO, at 18. Avery's abuse of D.G. was not reported to the Archdiocese until January 30, 2009, by which time the Appellant was no longer Secretary for Clergy. Appellant left that position to become the pastor at St. Joseph's Parish on June 28, 2004.

Two years after Avery's abuse of D.G. concluded, the child sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston erupted, causing leaders in the Catholic Church to reexamine the manner in which they dealt with priests accused of sexually abusing minors. Consequently,

TCO, at 18-19.

On June 20, 2002, R.F.'s brother contacted Appellant and revealed that he had also been sexually abused by Avery when he was 14 or 15 years old. He also told Appellant that Avery had been seen recently disc jockeying local parties. On June 3, 2003, Appellant initiated an investigation, under the new regimen instituted by the Dallas Charter, into the accusations made against Avery "on or about September 28, 1992, which resurfaced on or around June 19, 2002." N.T., 3/27/12, at 101 (Commonwealth's Exhibit C-94). On September 27, 2003,

On June 20, 2005, Cardinal Rigali requested that Avery be laicized. On August 13, 2005, Avery wrote to the Vatican, requesting laicization.[14] On January 20, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI granted Avery dispensation from all priestly obligations.

TCO, at 19-20.

At trial, the Commonwealth also introduced copious evidence of prior bad acts concerning Appellant's handling of twenty other priests accused of molesting minors and similar transgressions. TCO, at 20-132. That evidence was offered to aid the jury in understanding Appellant's "intent, knowledge, motivation and absence of mistake when handling Avery's case[.]" TCO, at 20.

Procedural History15

This case was initiated by a criminal complaint charging Appellant with two counts each of EWOC, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304, and conspiracy to commit EWOC, 18 Pa. C.S. § 903, relating to his supervision of Avery and another priest, Reverend James Brennan ("Brennan"). Initially, both Avery and Brennan were scheduled to be tried alongside Appellant as co-defendants. However, Avery pled guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse16 and conspiracy to commit EWOC on March 22, 2012, after the jury had been selected but before the Commonwealth began presenting its case. Brennan remained as Appellant's co-defendant until the case concluded.

Appellant's and Brennan's jury trial commenced on March 26, 2012. The Commonwealth rested its case on May 17, 2012 and, at that time, the trial court granted Appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal with regard to the Brennan-related conspiracy count, but denied the motion with respect to the remaining counts. The trial ended on June 22, 2012, when the jury returned a verdict of guilty with respect to the Avery-related EWOC charge, and acquitted him of the Avery-related conspiracy and Brennan-related EWOC charges.17 Appellant did not file post-sentence motions.

On July 24, 2012, the trial court sentenced Appellant to a term of 3-6 years' incarceration for EWOC, graded as a third-degree felony.18 Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on August 8, 2012, and complied in a timely fashion with the trial court's order to file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). The trial court eventually filed its 1925(a) opinion on April 12, 2013.

Appellant presents the following questions for our review:

Appellant's Brief, at 4-5.

Appellant's first two claim address, inter alia, the sufficiency of the evidence supporting Appellant's conviction for EWOC. The first concerns his culpability as a principal actor, and the second concerns his culpability as an accomplice. Because of our ultimate disposition with regard to these two claims, we do not reach the remainder of Appellant's allegations of error.

Standard of Review

Both of Appellant's sufficiency claims require an identical scope and standard of review. The question of whether evidence is sufficient to sustain a verdict is a question law, and as such, "our standard of review is de novo and our scope [of review] is plenary." Commonwealth v. Cruttenden, ___ Pa. ___, 58 A.3d 95, 96 n. 1 (2012). It is well-established that:

Commonwealth v. Widmer, 560 Pa. 308, 744 A.2d 745, 751 (2000); see also Commonwealth v. Maerz, 879 A.2d 1267, 1269 (Pa.Super.2005) (stating "[w]hile we are not free to substitute our view of the evidence for the factual findings of the trial court, we as an appellate court are authorized, indeed required, to use a plenary scope of review in determining the validity of the legal conclusions made by the trial court.").

Conviction for EWOC as a Principal

It is undisputed that Appellant was tried under the pre-amended version of the EWOC statute. Prior to January 29, 2007, the statute read: "A parent, guardian or other person supervising the welfare of a child under 18 years of age commits an offense if he knowingly endangers the welfare of the child by violating a duty of care, protection or support." 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304(a)(1). The 2007 amendment added language, inter alia, such that the statute now reads: "A parent, guardian or other person supervising the welfare of a child under 18 years of age, or a person that employs or supervises such a person, commits an offense if he knowingly endangers the welfare of the child by violating a duty of care, protection or support." 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304(a) (current) (emphasis added).

It is undisputed that Avery was supervising D.G. when he sexually abused the boy. It is also undisputed that Appellant did not have any direct supervisory role over D.G. or any other child put at risk by Avery's presence at St. Jerome's. The Commonwealth's contention at trial was that Appellant, in his capacity as the Archdiocese's point-man on priests accused of sexual abuse, violated the pre-amended EWOC statute by placing Avery in an environment where he knew there was a significant risk that Avery would sexually abuse minors (or by failing to remove him once there were indications that Avery might reoffend). Thus, independent of whether Appellant owed a duty of care to the children of St. Jerome's, or to D.G. in particular, the prohibited conduct of his alleged violation of the EWOC statute was his inadequate supervision of Avery.

Appellant claims the pre-amended EWOC statute did not encompass the conduct of a supervisor of a "person supervising the welfare of a child." He contends that by the plain meaning of the terms of the pre-amended statute, it imposed criminal liability only upon those directly supervising children. He maintains that decisional law examining the pre-amended statute limited the class of persons subject to criminal liability to "parents and parental surrogates." Appellant's Brief, at 19. Appellant also directs our attention to the 2007 amendment language as a compelling indication that the prior version of the statute, the one under which Appellant's conviction rests, did not encompass persons described by the additional language, i.e., those who employ or supervise the class of individuals that were within the purview of the pre-amended version. In essence, he argues that the legislature's inclusion of the "or a person that employs or supervises such a person" language in the amended statute indicated an intent to add a class of persons not originally subject to liability under the pre-amended version.

The Commonwealth contends the plain meaning of the pre-amended statute clearly encompassed the class of persons added by the 2007 amendment and, thus, the amendment was merely a clarification of, rather than a substantial change of, the pre-amended statute's scope of liability. The Commonwealth further argues the case law addressing the pre-amended EWOC statute's broad reach supports that interpretation. Furthermore, the Commonwealth believes Appellant misconstrues the plain language of the statute by limiting the phrase "person supervising the welfare of a child" to apply only to those persons who directly supervise a child. The Commonwealth maintains that the terms "the welfare of" are rendered superfluous by such an interpretation, in contravention of the well-settled principles of statutory construction.

"In a case involving a question of statutory interpretation, we are subject to the rules of statutory construction enacted by the legislature and embodied in 1 Pa. C.S.A. § 1901 et seq." Commonwealth v. Berryman, 437 Pa.Super. 258, 649 A.2d 961, 965 (1994). Section 1921 provides as follows:

1 Pa.C.S. § 1921.

Accordingly, when this Court seeks to

Berryman, 649 A.2d at 965 — 66 (some internal citations omitted).

When applying these rules to the construction or interpretation of a criminal statute, additional considerations apply. Generally, statutes are to be liberally construed as to give proper effect to the intent of the legislature; however, penal provisions "shall be strictly construed[.]" 1 Pa.C.S. § 1928(b)(1). Nevertheless,

Berryman, 649 A.2d at 966-67 (internal citations omitted).

Here, the statute in question identifies three groups of people potentially subject to criminal liability for EWOC. The first two groups are not subject to dispute; the statute applies, in unambiguous terms, to a "parent" or a "guardian" of a child, if that parent or guardian "knowingly endangers the welfare of the child by violating a duty of care, protection or support." 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304(a). At issue in this case is the scope or breadth of a class of individuals subsumed in the phrase, "or other person supervising the welfare of a child[.]" Id. It is undisputed that Appellant was not, in any literal sense, supervising any child at St. Jerome's. He contends, therefore, that the pre-amended statute could not apply to him.

We begin with a review of the prior decisions of the Courts of Pennsylvania defining the scope of the EWOC statute. In Commonwealth v. Mack, 467 Pa. 613, 359 A.2d 770 (1976), our Supreme Court considered a facial challenge to the EWOC statute alleging that it was unconstitutionally vague. The Supreme Court found that the terms of the statute were indeed imprecise, but not unconstitutionally vague, because, like any statute pertaining to juveniles, the EWOC statute was intended "to cover a broad range of conduct in order to safeguard the welfare and security of our children." Id. at 772 (quoting Commonwealth v. Martin, 452 Pa. 380, 305 A.2d 14, 18 (1973)). Despite the apparent vagueness of the terms defining a violation of the statute, the Court held that "[a]n individual who contemplates a particular course of conduct will have little difficulty deciding whether his intended act `endangers the welfare of the child' by his violation of a `duty of care, protection or support.'" Id. The Mack Court explained:

Id.

Thus, Mack instructs that the terms of the EWOC statute are, at least to some degree, intentionally imprecise so as to encompass a wide range of conduct, commensurate to the statute's broad, protective purpose. Nevertheless, neither this Court nor our Supreme Court has ever affirmed a conviction for EWOC where the accused was not actually engaged in the supervision of, or was responsible for supervising, the endangered child. In fact, in Commonwealth v. Halye, 719 A.2d 763 (Pa.Super.1998) (en banc), this Court reversed an EWOC conviction because the Commonwealth "failed in its burden of proving that the [a]ppellant was in the position of supervising the children" under the following circumstances:

Halye, 719 A.2d at 764-65.

Explaining our decision to reverse, we reasoned:

Id. at 765.

Here, the trial court rejected Appellant's argument that the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law because Appellant had no supervisory role for the children of St. Jerome's. The trial court determined that "the statute does not require that an individual be a `supervisor of a child' to fall under EWOC's umbrella of criminal liability." TCO, at 183. The trial court explained:

Id. at 183-85 (footnotes omitted).

In its Letter Brief, the Commonwealth endorses the trial court's distinction between `actual supervision of children' and `supervision of the welfare of children' as the basis for Appellant's liability for EWOC. Noticeably absent from the trial court's analysis is any mention of the Halye decision which, even if not controlling authority in a strict sense, clearly addresses the element at issue. Halye appears to conflict with both the trial court's and the Commonwealth's interpretation of the EWOC statute that actual/direct supervision of a child is not required for an EWOC conviction under the pre-amended version of the statute. The Commonwealth attempts to distinguish Halye in a footnote, arguing:

Commonwealth's Letter Brief, at 19 n. 8.

The Commonwealth's argument is faulty for several reasons. First, it is unmistakable that the Halye Court considered actual supervision of children to be an element of the offense of EWOC:

Halye, 719 A.2d at 765.

Second, the Commonwealth's argument conflates the supervision and duty elements of the statute. The Halye Court did not address, in any fashion, whether Halye had a duty of care, protection or support with respect to the child victim in that case. The Halye Court based its decision solely on the Commonwealth's failure to prove that Halye "was in the position of supervising the children...." Halye, 719 A.2d at 765.

The distinction between the supervision and duty elements was addressed in Brown. In that case, the appellant attempted to argue that he was "not supervising the welfare of a child" because "he did not have a duty to report the abuse he witnessed" being inflicted on the child victim by the victim's mother, who was Brown's friend, and who resided with Brown in his residence. This Court dismissed his argument because we found that "[a]rguing that [an appellant] did not violate a duty does not address whether or not he was within the scope of the statute as a `person supervising the welfare of a child.'" Brown, 721 A.2d at 1107. We considered Brown's argument "circular" and found that it "addresses a separate element of the crime." Id. Conversely, the Commonwealth's attempt to distinguish Halye from the instant case on the basis that Halye had no duty of care, protection or support, whereas Appellant did have such a duty, conflates or otherwise ignores the distinction between the supervision and duty elements of the EWOC statute.

Third, the Commonwealth's characterization of Halye as a case that "merely applies the facts to the law" is worthy of consideration, but is hardly a basis upon which to justify ignoring the import of the decision's legal conclusions. The legal question before this Court is whether the accused must be a supervisor of a child for culpability to arise under the EWOC statute. Halye directly confronted that legal issue, albeit in a different factual context. Mack, on the other hand, while providing a general outline of the legislative purpose behind the EWOC statute, did so in a completely different legal context, that being the consideration of whether the statute, as a whole, was unconstitutionally vague. Mack certainly guides us on the question of legislative intent, but that case offers little guidance on the precise matter before us, which deals with the interpretation of a specific element of the EWOC statute. While we must be mindful to interpret the statute in a manner that gives effect to the intent of the legislature, "[w]hen the words of a statute are clear and free from all ambiguity, the letter of it is not to be disregarded under the pretext of pursuing its spirit." 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b). Thus, we turn to the statute to ascertain its plain meaning.

Having failed to consider the compelling implications of Halye, which directly considered the element in question, and having relied to an excessive extent on the broad mandate outlined by Mack, which did not discuss the element in question at all, the trial court's endeavor at statutory construction of the pre-amended EWOC statute was fundamentally flawed in this case. Independent of the guidance provided by those authorities, however, the trial court's parsing of the terms "the welfare of" is not a reasonable construction because it adds ambiguity where none need exist. The plain meaning of the statute requires that, for a person who is not a parent or a guardian of the endangered child to be subject to criminal liability, he must at least be engaged in the supervision, or be responsible for the supervision, of "a child."

Contrary to the Commonwealth's argument, such a reading does not render the term "welfare" redundant in contravention of the principle of statutory construction that we give effect to all of the EWOC statute's provisions. "Welfare," as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, means "health, happiness, or prosperity; well-being." AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY 923 (4th ed. 2001). Similarly, Black's Law Dictionary defines the term as "[w]ell-being in any respect; prosperity." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 1625 (8th ed. 1999). In the context of the phrase, "person supervising the welfare of a child," the term "welfare" does not eviscerate the requirement of supervision.19 Rather, the statute endeavors to protect a child's overall well-being, such as to include the emotional, psychological, and overall health of the child. The term operates to make clear that supervision encompasses more than protection from physical harm or the risk of physical harm.

Thus, the plain language of the pre-amended EWOC statute requires proof, as an element of the offense, that the accused was a supervisor of an endangered child victim when the conduct or condition giving rise to the offense occurred.20 In doing so, we reject the interpretation of the trial court, as endorsed by the Commonwealth, that inclusion of the terms "the welfare of" in 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304(a) implies that "the statute does not require that an individual be a `supervisor of a child' to fall under EWOC's umbrella of criminal liability." TCO, at 183. The plain meaning of the terms of that clause does not support such a construction. And, despite the broad purpose of the EWOC statute as outlined in Mack, "[w]hen the words of a statute are clear and free from all ambiguity, the letter of it is not to be disregarded under the pretext of pursuing its spirit." 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b). Accordingly, we conclude that the evidence was not sufficient to support Appellant's conviction for EWOC as a principal actor, because the Commonwealth failed to offer any evidence that Appellant was a supervisor of D.G. or any other child at St. Jerome's.21

Accomplice to EWOC

Although we conclude that Appellant could not be convicted as a principal for EWOC, the jury was charged to consider whether Appellant was culpable for EWOC as Avery's accomplice, presenting an independent avenue by which the jury could have convicted Appellant for a violation of the EWOC statute. Thus, in Appellant's second claim, he contends that the evidence was not sufficient for accomplice liability premised upon three distinct, alternative arguments. He first contends that accomplice liability to EWOC is a legal nullity because applying accomplice liability to EWOC is illogical, as the EWOC statute itself directly prohibits aiding and abetting child abuse or other acts or omissions that constitute a violation of "a duty of care, protection or support." 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304(a). Second, Appellant argues that even if accomplice to EWOC is not a legal nullity, the Commonwealth still failed to meet its burden because the Commonwealth's specific theory of accomplice liability was itself legally improper. Third, he claims that the evidence was still insufficient to support his conviction, even assuming the legal validity of the Commonwealth's theories.

The Crimes Code provides that "[a] person is guilty of an offense if it is committed by his own conduct or by the conduct of another person for which he is legally accountable, or both." 18 Pa.C.S. § 306(a) (emphasis added). A person is "legally accountable for the conduct of another person" committing a criminal offense when "he is an accomplice of such other person in the commission of the offense." 18 Pa. C.S. § 306(b).

Our Supreme Court has summarized the requirements for establishing accomplice liability as follows:

Commonwealth v. Murphy, 577 Pa. 275, 844 A.2d 1228, 1234 (2004).

Appellant's first sufficiency claim regarding his culpability as an accomplice to Avery concerns whether accomplice to EWOC is ever a cognizable offense. Appellant asserts that "[t]here exist no published cases in Pennsylvania that have ever found accomplice liability for EWOC." Appellant's Brief, at 34. Neither the trial court nor the Commonwealth disputes this assertion, and our own review of Pennsylvania decisional law confirms that proposition. It can also be said that no published cases in Pennsylvania have ever ruled that accomplice to EWOC is not a cognizable offense. Thus, Appellant's first argument regarding accomplice liability would certainly be one of first impression for this Court; however, we decline to address it at this time because we can resolve Appellant's case without making such a determination. As set forth below, even if accomplice liability to EWOC is a cognizable offense, we conclude that the specific theory of culpability applied in this case was not legally cognizable and that, nevertheless, there was insufficient evidence to support such a theory.

Here, the trial court found that the Commonwealth's evidence satisfied both prongs of the accomplice test: 1) that Appellant "intended to promote or facilitate the commission of EWOC[;]" and 2) that Appellant "aided, agreed, or attempted to aid Avery in committing the offense of EWOC." TCO, at 202. We disagree because we conclude that the evidence was not sufficient to prove that Appellant intended to promote or facilitate the commission of EWOC. Accordingly, we also do not reach the second prong.

The trial court found that the first prong was satisfied by evidence that Appellant "intended to prevent scandal and to protect Avery." TCO, at 204. The evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the Commonwealth, demonstrated that Appellant's first priority in dealing with sexually abusive priests appeared to be the protection of the reputation of the Archdiocese. His second priority appeared to be protection of the reputation of the offending priest. To demonstrate Appellant's general "intent" in this regard, the Commonwealth presented copious evidence of Appellant's mishandling of other cases involving sexually abusive priests.

Constrained by our standard of review, we cannot dispute that the Commonwealth presented more than adequate evidence to sufficiently demonstrate that Appellant prioritized the Archdiocese's reputation over the safety of potential victims of sexually abusive priests and, by inference, that the same prioritization dominated Appellant's handling of Avery. Nevertheless, we do not believe such a showing is sufficient to demonstrate intent to promote or facilitate an EWOC offense. The question of whether Appellant's priorities were more with the reputation of the church, or, instead, with the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Archdiocese priests, is not at issue in this case. The relevant question is whether there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate Appellant intended to promote or facilitate Avery's endangerment of D.G. or other children at St. Jerome's. It is not at all clear that these are indistinguishable or interchangeable theories of intent, despite the trial court's implicit suggestion that they are:

TCO, at 203.

In the passage above, (a) stands for the proposition that Appellant handled Avery in the same manner in which he handled other cases of sexually abusive priests: he prioritized the reputation of the Archdiocese over the well-being of victims and potential victims of such priests. Again, the Commonwealth provided ample evidence regarding Appellant's pattern of intentionally mishandling other sexually abusive priests with the intent to shelter both the priests and the larger church from disrepute, thus giving rise to a permissible inference for the jury to draw that Appellant acted in conformity with that intent when dealing with Avery. However, implicitly acknowledging that such broad, general intent is not itself sufficient to establish accomplice culpability, the trial court states in (b) that the Commonwealth satisfied its burden by demonstrating that Appellant was aware of the `natural and probable consequences' of his handling of Avery. By this, the trial court must mean that the conduct which gave rise to Avery's EWOC violation was the `natural and probable consequence' of Appellant's conduct. The record simply does not support such a theory of culpability.

There was no evidence that Appellant had any specific knowledge that Avery was planning or preparing to molest children at St. Jerome's. Indeed, Avery was not even diagnosed with a mental impairment that suggested he had a predisposition to commit sexual offenses. As such, the notion that Avery was an ongoing, ever-present danger more than a decade after having sexually assaulted R.F. was tenuous at best. Even more tenuous, then, was the conclusion that the natural and probable consequences of Appellant's negligent supervision of Avery were Avery's intentional acts of molestation against a victim unknown to Appellant. Here, the information available to Appellant only suggested Avery's acts of sexual abuse were a byproduct of his alcohol abuse, and there was no evidence that Avery had resumed drinking, or that Appellant knew of such behavior.

Nevertheless, Avery was appointed to a chaplaincy so as to limit his contact with children. There was no evidence that Appellant explicitly or implicitly approved of Avery's supervision of minors at St. Jerome's. In fact, the Commonwealth's own evidence demonstrated that upon Avery's placement at St. Jerome's rectory, that parish's pastor, Father Graham, was told that Avery "was not to be around children and was to live in the parish, be around other priests, and minister to the local hospital." N.T., 5/23/12, at 50. Even if these facts did not extinguish the risk that Avery presented to the parish, the Commonwealth's evidence was not sufficient to support the notion that the natural and probable consequence of Appellant's conduct was Avery's intentional act of molestation (which was the only conduct that could have given rise to Avery's EWOC violation). Such an inference was far too tenuous a proposition to satisfy the Commonwealth's burden of proof, even viewing all the evidence in a light most favorable to the Commonwealth.

We conclude, therefore, that the theories of accomplice liability applied by the trial court in this case were not supported by sufficient evidence. There was no underlying EWOC offense committed by Avery when Appellant facilitated his appointment to the St. Jerome's rectory, or when Avery was permitted to remain at St. Jerome's after Appellant received the influx of negative information about Avery's rehabilitation. When there was an underlying EWOC violation, Appellant's accomplice liability to EWOC was unsupported by sufficient evidence. Appellant did not know or know of D.G., he was not sufficiently aware Avery's supervision of D.G. or any other child at St. Jerome's, nor did he have any specific information that Avery intended or was preparing to molest D.G. or any other child at St. Jerome's. In sum, the evidence was insufficient to demonstrate that Appellant acted with the "intent of promoting or facilitating" an EWOC offense.

Having determined that the evidence was not sufficient to support Appellant's conviction for EWOC either as a principal or as an accomplice, we are compelled to reverse Appellant's judgment of sentence. And, as there are no other offenses for which he was convicted in this case, Appellant is ordered discharged forthwith.

Judgment of sentence reversed. Appellant is discharged.