BALTIMORE (MD)
WBFF - Fox 45 [Baltimore MD]
April 4, 2022
By Tim Swift
A Baltimore priest has returned to his ministry after an investigation into allegations that he sexually abused a child did not find any evidence to substantiate the charges, the Archdiocese of Baltimore said Sunday.
Last year, the Archdiocese announced Father Martin Demek, the then-pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Baltimore’s Bolton Hill neighborhood, had been removed of his faculties to function as a priest and suspended him from ministry, pending the results of an investigation.
The archdiocese learned of the allegations in early 2021 and contacted the police. According to the original charges, the alleged abuse began in about 1989 when the victim was about 11 years old. The incidents were said to have happened at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Manchester. The Rev. Demek said he was innocent of the charges and he has been not criminally charged.
The archdiocese said its investigative team included a former FBI agent. The team said it interviewed about 50 people as part of the investigation. The decision to return the Rev. Demek to the priesthood was approved by the Archdiocese’s Independent Review Board. The board is made up of six laypeople, a priest and a nun.
The Archdiocese said the Rev. Demek returned to his position as pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church on Sunday.