BALTIMORE (MD)
CBS News [Baltimore, MD]
March 24, 2025
By Adam Thompson
A former Baltimore priest was arrested for child sex abuse allegations in the 1990s, according to Baltimore County police.
William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, is facing charges of second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses after he was accused of the crimes from 1991 through 1994 in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Baltimore.
Police started investigating sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023 when a victim reported the abuse.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore said Mannion left the priesthood in the late 1990s after requesting to be formally removed from the clerical state for reasons unrelated to the alleged 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 said in a statement. “The Archdiocese of Baltimore is committed to protecting children and helping to heal victims of abuse.”
Detectives believe there may be more victims of Mannion’s abuse and urge them to come forward, according to police.
Anyone with information about these crimes should call the Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.
Child Victims Act abuse claims
Maryland’s Child Victims Act into law in October 2023 which eliminated the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases.
About 3,500 alleged victims have filed lawsuits against the state since the Child Victims Act was imposed.
Most notably, hundreds of lawsuits were filed over sexual abuse claims against the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which spanned nearly 80 years.
In April 2023, The Maryland Attorney General’s Office released a 450-page report that identified 156 priests, deacons, Catholic teachers and seminarians within the Archdiocese accused of abusing more than 600 victims. The incidents detailed in the report date back to the 1940s.
McDonogh School abuse allegations
More than a dozen former students at McDonogh School, a Baltimore County private school, recently came forward in a complaint, alleging they were sexually abused.
The alleged victims claim to have suffered sexual abuse by former dean Alvin Levy, former Spanish teacher Robert Creed, and two more faculty members while attending the school between the 1960s and 1980s.
WJZ previously highlighted one of four lawsuits against McDonogh, claiming the school was aware of the abuse and failed to protect students.
The lawsuit details the former student’s account of being sexually assaulted several times by former dean Levy when he was 10 years old.
Abuse in the juvenile detention centers
On March 19, hundreds of alleged victims of abuse in Maryland’s juvenile justice system protested for the state to take accountability for the actions at the detention centers.
Alleged victims shared their stories of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of staff.
“How many more survivors need to come forward before the state finally takes responsibility? How many more children have to suffer before a change is made?” an alleged victim said.
A statement from the Department of Juvenile Services reads, “DJS takes allegations of sexual abuse of children in our care with utmost seriousness…. DJS notes that all the claims brought under the Maryland Child Victims Act involve allegations from many decades ago. Beyond that, DJS will not comment on this pending litigation.”