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Maryland Church Abuse Lawsuit
Child Sexual Abuse Acknowledged in 2023 Report
Six hundred children is the initial count – preschoolers, minor teenagers, even some recovering in hospitals (mostly boys) – sexually abused and in some cases physically tortured by Baltimore Catholic clergy for 80 years, according to a new grand jury investigation published April 5, 2023, by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown.1
The investigation was initiated by Pope Francis in September 2018, directed to Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori.
“For victim-survivors everywhere, they know the hard truth: These evil acts did occur. We hear you. We believe you and your courageous voices have made a difference.”
– Baltimore Archbishop Wm. Lori, April 5, 2023
The news was released four days before Easter in a 463-page report, summarizing a four-year exhaustive dive into the Baltimore Archdiocese, which covers most of the state and is the largest diocese in the U.S.
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According to Attorney General Brown,
Both men and women were assaulted, in numbers likely to exceed more than 600 individuals.
Beginning in the 1980s, the Baltimore Archdiocese has admitted to paying more than $13.2 million for the care and compensation of 301 abuse victims, including $6.8 million in 105 voluntary settlements.
Enter A Case for Justice.
Over the past 7 years, we’ve empowered thousands of survivors, in abuse cases ranging from the ride-share industry to universities and sports organizations, and including Boy Scouts of America, Dr. Robert Anderson, and Michigan State University.
We help individuals access powerful, contingency fee legal services. There is no charge to you for our services.
We are an affiliate of A Case for Women, LLC, and operate a non-profit called A Fund for Women. To learn more, visit our FAQs.
A Case for Justice offers a safe, confidential place to tell your story, whether in a text, in an email, or in a telephone conversation. However you choose to tell it, talk to us before talking to a law firm.
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If you were abused as a minor in Maryland, unlike many other states, there is no time limit on sexual assault claims. You can take legal action no matter how long ago the abuse happened.
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Most shocking is that church officials silenced victims and dismissed countless pleas of abuse since the 1940s. In many cases, church officials were the offenders.
The new investigation interviewed thousands of victims and witnesses, taking into consideration hundreds of thousands of documents, including treatment reports, personnel records, and transfer reports.
“Threats with guns, rapes over and again, torture with ropes, chains, handcuffs, paddles, and hot wax. Touching, grabbing, groping. God’s name was invoked, victims were blamed, complaints were ignored, childhoods were stolen, all trust was shattered.” 2
The summary cites that 156 former Baltimore area priests, clergy, deacons, teachers, and other church employees, were serial sexual predators of at least 600 children between the 1940s and present (the investigation’s technical cutoff is 2002, but some references are dated later).
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See the List of Abusers from the Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Interim Public Release (April 2023).
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- Father Louis Affrica
- Father James Avant
- Father Bruce Ball
- Father John Banko
- Father Michael Barnes
- Father Thomas Bauernfeind
- Father Vincent Bechtel
- Father Ronald Belschner
- Father Thomas Bevan
- Father Maurice Blackwell
- Father Louis Bonacci
- Father John Bostwick
- Reverend H. Cornell Bradley
- Father William Braun
- Father Laurence Brett
- Father Frederick Brinkmann
- Stephen Brotzman
- Father Wayland Brown
- Father Gerard Bugge
- Father Robert Callahan
- Father John Carney
- Monsignor John Corbett
- Father Brian Cox
- Father Charles Coyle
- Father Fernando Cristancho
- Father Robert Cullen
- Father Joseph Davies
- Father Richard Deakin
- Father Alfred Dean
- Father Donald Dimitroff
- Brother Francis Dolan
- Father James Dowdy
- Father Robert Duerr
- Father John Duggan
- Father Frederick Duke
- Father Walter Emala
- Father Francis Ernst
- Father Luigi Esposito
- Father Terence Evans
- Father Alfred Ewanowski
- Father Kenneth Farabaugh
- Father Alphonsus Figlewski
- Deacon Joseph Firlie
- Father Carl Fisher
- Sister Theonella Flood
- Father Daniel Free
- Father Joseph Gallagher
- Father Joseph Gerg
- Father Steven Girard
- Father Mark Haight
- Father John Hammer
- Father Edward Heilman
- Father Marion Helowicz
- Father Joseph Hill
- Monsignor Robert Hiltz
- Father George Hopkins
- Father Joseph Hopkins
- Father Robert Hopkins
- Father William Jameson
- Father Albert Julian
- Deacon John Justice
- Father Thomas F. Kelly
- Father Thomas M. Kelly
- Father Joseph Kenney
- Father Simon Kenny
- Father Paul Knapp
- Father Michael Kolodziej
- Father Joseph Krach
- Father William “Jay” Krouse
- Father Joseph Kruse
- Deacon Thomas Kuhl
- Brother Xavier Langan
- Father Michael LaMountain
- Father James Lannon
- Father Ross LaPorta
- Father Regis Larkin
- Father David Leary
- Father Francis LeFevre
- Father Robert Lentz
- Father John Lippold
- Father Robert John Lochner
- Father Anthony Lorento
- Father George Loskarn
- Father Edward Neil Magnus
- Father Ronald Mardaga
- Father Kenneth Mar-tin
- Father Joseph Maskell
- Father Benedict Mawn
- Brother Constantine McCarthy
- Monsignor William McCrory
- Father Francis McGrath
- Father Eugene McGuire
- Patrick Mclntyre
- Brother Lawrence Meegen
- Father Raymond Melville
- John Merzbacher
- Father Joseph Messer
- Father Ronald Michaud
- Father William Migliorini
- Father John Mike
- Father Jerome Moody
- Brother Eugene Morgan
- Brother William Morgan
- Father John Mountain
- Father Timothy Murphy
- Father J. Glenn Murray
- Father Alan Nagle
- Father Robert Newman
- Deacon Leo O’Hara
- Father Garrett Orr
- Father Henry O’Toole
- Father John Padian
- Father John Peacock
- Father Dennis Pecore
- Father Adrian Poletti
- Eric Price
- Father Blair Raum
- Brother Thomas Rochacewicz
- Father Francis Roscetti
- Father Charles Rouse
- Brother Marius John Shine
- Father William Simms
- Father David Smith
- Monsignor Richard Smith
- Father Thomas Smith
- Father Michael Spillane
- Father Albert Stallings
- Father Edmund Stroup
- Brother Cuthbert Sullivan
- Father Francis Sweeney
- Father Alcuin Tasch
- Brother Cuthbert/Joseph Thibault
- Brother Thomas Tomasunas
- Father Jerome Toohey
- Father James Toulas
- Father Gerald Tragesser
- Father Jorge Yelez-Lopez
- Father Francis Wagner
- Father William Walsh
- Father William Wehrle
- Monsignor Thomas Whelan
- Father John Wielebski
- Monsignor Roger Wooden
- Father Howard Yeakle
- Sister Francis Yocum
- Monsignor Henry Zerhusen
New Law Allows Survivors to Join Legal Action – Even Decades After the Tragedy
The Child Victim Act of 2023 swept through the Maryland House of Delegates on March 5, 2023, the same day as the AG’s report landed, passing a long-awaited measure that permanently eliminates statutes of limitations (SOLs) for child sexual abuse survivor-victims in Maryland, regardless of previous age/time limits. It also lifts limitations for all future abuses and repeals a legal maneuver called “statute of repose” that shielded institutions from older accusations. Gov. Wes Moore signed the bill into law on April 12, 2023.
SOL refers to a state’s legal time limit for how long sexual abuse survivors are allowed to file charges against an assailant or negligent organization harboring an assailant. In many states, the window is only 2-3 years, putting pressure on victims who may need more time to absorb what happened to them.
Maryland’s Child Victim Act of 2023 is unprecedented in that it permanently removes all age/time constraints for victims of child sexual abuse, making Maryland the first state to do so. Other states like New York and California and most recently Kansas offer temporary “lookback windows,” usually valid for a few years, during which legal action may be taken regardless of when the abuse took place. Lookback windows, however, have deadlines, whereas the Maryland ruling totally removes them.
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Child USA – March 2020
“For victims of child sex abuse, it is remarkable to disclose abuse at all, regardless of their age. Data from the Department of Justice suggests that 86% of child sexual abuse goes unreported altogether. However, when victims of child sex abuse do report, a high percentage of them delay disclosure well into adulthood.”3
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We’re Ready When You’re Ready
If you, your child, or loved one was sexually abused by Catholic clergy, a Scout master, or camp counselor in Maryland during the last 80 years, please contact us for information about joining legal action. You may be eligible to join the Maryland Clergy Sexual Abuse lawsuit.
A Case for Justice and A Case for Women have already helped thousands of men and women across the country who have endured abuse at the hands of the Boy Scouts of America, The Catholic Church, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Uber/Lyft drivers, and Sex Traffickers.
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Sources
- Office of Anthony Brown, Maryland attorney general, “Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore” (redacted), April 4, 2023.
- William F. Zorzi, “After years of investigations and heartbreak, report detailing ‘horrendous’ allegations against clergy is released,” Maryland Matters, April 6, 2023.
- “Delayed Disclosure: A Factsheet Based on Cutting-Edge Research on Child Sexual Abuse,” ChildUSA, 2024.
