A retired Baltimore priest was charged with child sex abuse claims that date back over 30 years, Baltimore County police said.
William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, was charged with second-degree child abuse and several sex crimes after police accused him of committing the acts between 1991 and 1994 at the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Baltimore, where St. Agnes Church is located.
Police began looking into sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023 when one victim made a complaint of the abuse.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore stated Mannion departed the priesthood in the late 1990s after asking that he be formally removed from the clerical state for reasons not related to the alleged abuse.
“The Archdiocese of Baltimore is appalled to hear of allegations against Mannion and is prepared to assist fully with law enforcement,” the Archdiocese stated in a release. “The Archdiocese of Baltimore is devoted to guarding children and assisting victims of abuse to heal.”
As reported by The Baltimore Banner, Mannion was instrumental in taking down the infamous child rapist John Joseph Merzbacher.
A man told his therapist, reportedly, that Mannion had abused him from the time he was in the second grade up through fourth grade at St. Agnes School, charging documents obtained by the Banner said.
Police believe there are more victims of the abuse and ask them to step forward, detectives said.
Anyone with knowledge of these crimes is encouraged to contact the Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.
Child Victims Act abuse allegations
Maryland enacted its Child Victims Act into law in October 2023 which removed the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases.
Some 3,500 alleged victims have sued the state since the Child Victims Act was enacted.
Most prominently, hundreds of suits were brought against the Archdiocese of Baltimore over charges of sexual abuse that lasted virtually 80 years.
In April 2023, The Maryland Attorney General’s Office issued a 450-page report naming 156 priests, deacons, Catholic school teachers and seminarians in the Archdiocese who were charged with abusing over 600 victims. These offenses occurred as far back as the 1940s.
McDonogh School abuse allegations
Over a dozen former students at McDonogh School, a Baltimore County private school, recently joined together in a complaint, stating they were sexually abused.
The victims allege they were sexually abused by former dean Alvin Levy, former Spanish teacher Robert Creed, and two other faculty members while at the school from the 1960s through the 1980s.
WJZ earlier reported one of four lawsuits against McDonogh, stating the school had knowledge of the abuse and did not protect students.
The suit outlines the plaintiff’s story of being sexually abused repeatedly by former dean Levy at age 10.
Abuse in the juvenile detention centers
On March 19, hundreds of the state’s reported victims of abuse in the Maryland juvenile justice system rallied for the state to take responsibility for what has happened at the detention centers.
Reported victims testified to their experiences of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse by the staff.
“How many more survivors must come forward before the state will finally own up? How many more children must suffer before something is done?” an alleged victim asked.
A Department of Juvenile Services statement states, “DJS takes allegations of child sexual abuse in our care very seriously…. DJS observes that all the claims filed under the Maryland Child Victims Act are based on allegations dating back many decades. Beyond that, DJS will not respond to this pending litigation.”