Before a report on sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests in Maryland is made public, a judge will have to sign off on the report’s proposed redactions the state’s attorney general released on Monday.
Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office said in a statement it had sent a list of proposed redactions to the attorney general’s report, titled “Clergy Abuse in Maryland” to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. The report is based on a 2019 investigation that uncovered a large number of allegations of sexual abuse in the Baltimore Archdiocese.
“These proposed redactions include individuals who are living, are accused of abuse, hiding abuse, enabling abuse, assisting in the cover-up of abuse, or protecting abusers from the consequences of their action, and whose identities were revealed as a result of the grand jury subpoenas,” the statement said.
Following the court’s approval, which is required because the report contains information from grand jury subpoenas, the report will be public and published on the Attorney General’s website.
The investigation behind the report identified 158 Roman Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Baltimore who have been accused of sexually and physically abusing more than 600 victims over the past 80 years, according to court records filed in November.
Then Attorney General Brian Frosh announced that his office has completed a 463-page report on the investigation. He filed a motion in Baltimore Circuit Court to make the report public. It’s unclear when the court will make a decision.
The report identifies 115 priests who were prosecuted for sex abuse and/or identified publicly by the archdiocese as having been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse. According to the court filing, 43 other priests are included in the report who are accused of sexual abuse but not identified publicly by the archdiocese.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
