Baltimore Archdiocese Sex Abuse Report Release Ordered By Judge

BALTIMORE, MD — A judge on Friday ordered the public release of a grand jury investigation into the Baltimore archdiocese, where priests are accused of sexually abusing more than 600 children over eight decades, according to a report.

Circuit Judge Robert Taylor Jr. signed an order to release a redacted version of the 463-page report the Baltimore Banner reported. Taylor said he would hear arguments and decide whether to release the entire report at a later date.

"Keeping this report from the public is an injustice. ... The need for disclosure outweighs the need for secrecy," Taylor wrote, according to the Banner. "The only form of justice that may now be available is a public reckoning — a disclosure of the facts as found (by) the Office of Attorney General and contained in this report."

Before the report's release, the attorney general's office must list the names of people named or affected by the report and take it to a judge for approval, according to the Banner. The list must be submitted before March 13.

• RELATED: 600 Child Sex Abuse Victims In Baltimore Archdiocese, AG Report Says

The Archdiocese of Baltimore in 2019 released the names of 126 priests accused of sexual abuse, but few details have been disclosed since then.

Victims ranged in age from preschool to age 18, according to former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh. Both boys and girls were abused, according to the court filing. Hundreds more victims are likely, the report said.

In November, Frosh filed a motion to release the report to the public.

"For decades, survivors reported sexual abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests, and for decades the church covered up the abuse rather than holding the abusers accountable and protecting its congregations. The Archdiocese of Baltimore was no exception," the motion filed with the Circuit Court of Baltimore City said.

The report, titled "Clergy Abuse in Maryland," identifies 115 priests who were prosecuted for sex abuse and identified publicly by the archdiocese as having been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse. It also includes an additional 43 priests accused of sexual abuse but not identified publicly by the archdiocese, the Associated Press reported, quoting the court records.

The investigation also revealed that the archdiocese failed to report many allegations of sexual abuse, conduct adequate investigations of alleged abuse, remove abusers from the ministry, or restrict their access to children.

"Instead, it went to great lengths to keep the abuse secret," the court filing said, according to AP. "While the Archdiocese reported many allegations to police, especially in later years, for decades it worked to ensure that the perpetrators would not face justice."

Current Attorney General Anthony G. Brown lauded the judge's decision.

"We are pleased with the court's order today permitting the interim release of a redacted version of the attorney general's report on the Archdiocese of Baltimore," Brown said in an emailed statement. "The office will move expeditiously to comply with the court's order and prepare a redacted copy of the report to be released upon review and approval by the Court."

Maryland's probe was the second in the country by a state prosecutor, after Pennsylvania, according to The Washington Post. Frosh's push to release the report came on the 20th anniversary of the emergence of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal in the United States, starting with an investigative series by The Boston Globe.