BALTIMORE (MD)
Adam Horowitz Law [Fort Lauderdale, FL]
January 17, 2025
By Adam Horowitz
If you asked Catholics in Maryland (and around the District of Columbia) about the Maryland attorney general’s investigation into clergy sex crimes and cover-ups in their area, most would say, “That’s over.” And they’d be right, but only to a degree. In 2023, the state’s AG released a 463-page report on his probe. It named roughly 150 accused abusers. That report covered the bulk of the predator priests in Maryland, which is mostly covered by the Baltimore Archdiocese. However, the AG’s office is now investigating that portion of the state that technically belongs to the Archdiocese of Washington. It includes five Maryland counties: Montgomery, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, Calvert, and Charles.
A year ago, Maryland AG Anthony Brown began “actively seeking testimony from victims of child sex abuse“ in those counties. One news source called the move “a sign that the state is expanding and intensifying its probe.” Prince George’s County is the second largest of these five jurisdictions. Not surprisingly, it has had more than its share of proven, admitted, and credibly accused child molesting clerics, including:
- Fr. William Earl “Jay“ Krouse: an Archdiocese of Washington DC cleric. Prince George’s County police learned that he had abused six boys when he was a teacher and pastor at the Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick and the St. Frances Catholic Deaf Center in Landover.’ Fr. Krouse was arrested and jailed in Florida while he awaited extradition. and sentenced to a 10-year prison term.
- Fr. Francis A. Benham: pleaded guilty to second and third-degree sex charges. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after discharge, according to a plea agreement between Prince George’s County State’s Attorney and his defense lawyer. Before moving to central Illinois, he worked as a priest at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Forestville, Maryland, and at several Catholic churches on the East Coast. Fr. Benham then became a certified childcare provider with Illinois Human Services. However, in 2012, authorities cited him for practicing clinical psychology without a license. His name is included on at least two church ‘credibly accused‘ lists, in the Archdiocese of Washington DC in 2018 and the Columbus diocese in 2019.
- Fr. Robert Joseph Petrella: initially accused of molesting one child during car trips from St. Thomas More parish in Washington DC to the victim’s home in Prince George’s County and in the parking lot of the boy’s apartment complex. In total, Fr. Petrella has been accused by at least 25 men of molesting them when they were children. Like so many predator priests, after having been reported for raping two brothers, this priest was sent to treatment and then returned to ministry. Ultimately, he was sent for treatment three times. Petrella also lived in North Arlington, Maryland.
- Fr. Peter M. McCutcheon: was abused at least three children and was given a sentence of 25 years in prison to five years’ probation by a Prince George’s County judge. A civil suit against the archdiocese charged that McCutcheon had sexual and alcohol problems dating back to seminary days.
- Fr. Paul E. Lavin: reportedly molested a child from Mount Calvary Parish in Forestville, Maryland, on a trip to Pennsylvania. He worked at three other Maryland assignments: Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, and a youth retreat program called Encountering Christ Through Others. Fr. Lavin also worked at two DC assignments: American University and St. Joseph’s Parish. He attended college in Kentucky and went to a New York seminary.
- Fr. George A. Stallings: was accused of molesting at least three boys. He was ordered to go to treatment but refused and instead formed his own breakaway congregation, which then moved to Prince George’s County. Fr. Stallings worked at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church and Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, both in Washington, DC.
- Fr. John Affrica: was accused of abusing both girls and boys, sometimes using liquor to ply his victims. He was originally a Holy Cross Brother, but later, he got married and became a licensed social worker. Fr. Affrica worked at a school in Massachusetts (Monsignor Coyle High School in Taunton), two parishes in Baltimore (Our Lady of Victory and St. Michael-Overlea), and three other Maryland towns (Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, St. Ann in Hagerstown and Holy Trinity in Glen Burnie).
At least two Jesuits reportedly abused in Prince George’s County:
- Fr. John F.X. Bellwoar: faced multiple allegations of abuse in Prince George’s County, MD, and Washington, DC. He was assigned to Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Gonzaga College High School in Washington DC, Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Washington DC.
- Fr. William J. Walsh: faced multiple allegations of sexual abuse and whose assignments included one in China, one in Maryland (the Jesuit province headquarters in Baltimore), two in the District of (Georgetown University and the Woodstock Theological Center) and four in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Wernersville, and Lancaster).
Finally, in one fell swoop, four Maryland priests who spent time in Prince George’s County admitted abusing an altar boy at St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church in Lanham. They are:
- Fr. Thomas Schaefer: chaplain at Carroll Manor Nursing Home in Hyattsville.
- Fr. Alphonsus Smith: pastor of St. Bernadine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church in Suitland.
- Fr. Edward B. Pritchard: associate pastor at St. Mary Mother of God Roman Catholic Church in Washington, DC.
- Fr. Edward Hartel: pastor at the Shrine of St. Jude in Rockville.
Let’s hope the attorney general conducts the next phase of his investigation promptly and thoroughly. We’re confident he will provide the publicc with far more details about these men’s crimes and their supervisors’ wrongdoing.