BALTIMORE (MD)
Microsoft News [Redmond WA]
March 24, 2025
By Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, Baltimore Sun
A former Maryland priest and one-time sexual abuse whistleblower has been arrested and charged with second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses, Baltimore County Police said Monday.
William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, is accused of sexual abuse that occurred from approximately 1991 through 1994, police said in a news release.
Detectives assigned to the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit opened an investigation into reports of past sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023. During that investigation, a survivor gave information about alleged abuse involving Mannion in the 1990s in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Catonsville, police said.
There may be more victims of Mannion’s alleged abuse, according to police, who are urging others to come forward.
In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Baltimore said Mannion left the priesthood in the 1990s and was laicized, or formally removed from the clerical state, in 2004 “for reasons unrelated to abuse.”
“The Archdiocese of Baltimore is saddened to learn of allegations of abuse by Mannion and is committed to cooperating fully with law enforcement. The Archdiocese of Baltimore is committed to protecting children and helping to heal victims of abuse. We urge anyone who has any knowledge of any child sexual abuse to contact law enforcement and call the Archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection,” the archdiocese said in the statement.
In the early 1990s, Mannion reported abuse his former classmate at Catholic Community Middle School of Baltimore experienced at the hands of her former teacher John J. Merzbacher to the archdiocese. Merzbacher received four life sentences and died in 2023 while incarcerated.
Anyone with information can contact the Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.
Baltimore Sun reporter Racquel Bazos contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Michelle Deal-Zimmerman at nzimmerman@baltsun.com.
This article has been corrected to reflect that William Mannion is a former priest.
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