Maryland AG Releases Unredacted Baltimore Archdiocese Sex Abuse Report

BALTIMORE, MD — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on Tuesday released a substantially unredacted version of a grand jury report detailing allegations of sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the cover-up of that abuse by Catholic church leadership.

The announcement comes more than a month after a judge ordered the release of the unredacted report, which was expected to reveal all but three names blacked out in the original report released in April.

"The court's order enables my office to continue to lift the veil of secrecy over decades of horrifying abuse suffered by the survivors," Brown said in a statement in August.

• RELATED: Unredacted Baltimore Archdiocese Sex Abuse Report To Be Released

The new report is available to view on the Maryland attorney general's website.

While the new report contains fewer redactions, seven names — two abusers and five members of the clergy — remain blacked out.

In Tuesday's announcement, Brown said some names in the report remain redacted as those individuals appeal the court's August ruling to disclose their identities. The appeals are ongoing, Brown said.

"Depending on the outcome of those appeals, the Office may release a further version of the report at a later time," Brown said.

The original 463-page report detailed "a long history of widespread abuse and systemic cover-up by clergy," Brown previously said. It also identified nearly 160 former and current priests, as well as other members of the church who are accused of sexually abusing more than 600 children over eight decades.

In 2019, the Archdiocese of Baltimore released the names of priests accused of sexual abuse but disclosed few details despite an extensive investigation. During the process, authorities subpoenaed hundreds of thousands of documents and interviewed former priests, church employees, witnesses, and survivors of sexual abuse. Authorities then compiled a report titled "Clergy Abuse in Maryland."

In November, former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed a motion to release the report to the public. A judge ordered the release of the report in February.

The redacted report released in April shielded the identities of 10 alleged abusers who had not previously been publicly accused of child abuse, Brown said. The names of five ranking officials of the Archdiocese of Baltimore were also redacted. According to Brown, the five officials had "extensive participation" in the Archdiocese's handling of the abuse.

The report also included more than two dozen other redacted names of people mentioned but not accused of child sexual abuse, Brown said.

Anyone wishing to report past abuse by clergy members can do so by calling 410-576-6312 or emailing report@oag.state.md.us.