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	Priest Removed from Post over Sex Abuse Allegations By Meg Tully Frederick News-Post August 25, 2009 http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=94292 The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed a former Frederick priest from the ministry, pending an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse. Monsignor Thomas Bevan, 73, was most recently a pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cumberland. A person contacted the archdiocese alleging that Bevan abused him several times in the mid-1970s when he was student at the St. John Catholic Church parish school in Frederick , according to an archdiocese press release. The allegations are being investigated by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office and the Frederick County State's Attorney. No charges have been filed, State's Attorney Charlie Smith said Sunday. There is no statute of limitations on criminal child sex abuse charges. It is standard practice for the archdiocese to remove people from the ministry after determining that allegations of sexual abuse have a "semblance of credibility," according to Sean Caine, a spokesman for the archdiocese. "We take our responsibility to protect children very seriously, and we feel it's in the best interest of everyone involved to handle it as transparently as possible so that we can get to the truth, which is ultimately our goal," Caine said. The archdiocese met with Bevan last week and he denied the allegation, the press release said. He was removed from the ministry that day. The archdiocese learned of the allegation in June and contacted the state's attorney office which asked the archdiocese not to continue its own investigation, contact Bevan or take any other further action. The state's attorney determined Bevan would not be able to molest or have inappropriate contact with minors in his current assignment, Smith said, and his office did not want the archdiocese's involvement to jeopardize the criminal investigation. The archdiocese received permission last Tuesday to continue its investigation. The allegation will be investigated by the archdiocese's Office of Child and Youth Protection, with oversight by an independent review board. This is the second allegation the archdiocese has received against Bevan. In 2005, it investigated an allegation by another person of child sexual abuse dating back to 1974. Bevan also denied that abuse, the press release stated. The archdiocese investigated and determined there was not sufficient evidence to remove him, the press release stated. The abuse was also reported to the Frederick County State's Attorney, but that office also determined the evidence was insufficient. Parishioners at St. Patrick Catholic Church were told of the suspension at a meeting Sunday. Other parishes where Bevan served, including St. John Catholic Church in Frederick , will be informed next weekend. The archdiocese asks those with information to contact the police as well as the archdiocese. Bevan was ordained a priest in 1963 and served at St. John in Frederick from 1974 to 1979. While there, he was an associate pastor and did not teach at the school, Caine said. He taught liturgy classes at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg .
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