Fr. Steven P. Girard

In 1991 a parishioner reported that teenagers – including one of Girard’s two foster sons – were allowed to drink whiskey in the rectory, and there were reports that year of Girard’s “increasingly erratic and problematic behavior.” Received one year probation in 2002 after falsely telling police he was the victim of a car jacking – he had picked up a male prostitute and the man stole his car. The man said they smoked crack cocaine and drank alcohol in St. Clement’s rectory. Girard was sent to St. Luke Institute. In 4/2004 a young man alleged abuse, including rape, by Girard when he was a St. Clement third-grader in the early 1990s, the first time during confession. He said Girard threatened him with castration if he told. Police were notified; the Archdiocese investigated. Girard denied the allegation. The accuser by suicide in 2005; his parents sued in 12/2007, later receiving a $200K settlement. Girard died in 2018. His name was included on the  Archdiocese’s list 7/23/2019. Included in the 4/5/2023 MD Attorney General’s Report.