Ex-Baltimore priest accused of sex abuse indicted on 15 charges
A former Baltimore priest who was arrested in March for child sex abuse allegations in the 1990s was indicted on 15 charges, according to our media partner, The Baltimore Banner.
William Mannion Jr., 62, from Sparrows Point, has
been charged with 15 felonies
, including second-degree sex offense and child abuse,
according to the Banner.
His alleged crimes happened between 1991 and 1995, in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Baltimore, where St. Agnes Church is located.
Police started investigating sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023 when a victim reported the abuse.
According to charging documents, a man told his therapist that Mannion abused him starting when he was in second grade and continuing through fourth grade at St. Agnes School. The victim alleges Mannion would pull him out of class and take him to the monastery where the abuse would happen, and the priest would play Christian rock music and use puppets.
Detectives believe there may be more victims of Mannion's abuse and urge them to come forward, according to police.
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."
According to The Baltimore Banner, Mannion played a key role in bringing down the
notorious child rapist John Joseph Merzbacher
.
Maryland's Child Victims Act was made into law in October 2023, eliminating the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases.
About 4,000 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.
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