Judge orders seal in case involving release of Baltimore Catholic church sex abuse report

BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore judge ruled a seal while attorneys battle over the public release of a report into child sex abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore, according to our media partners at The Baltimore Banner.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Anthony Vittoria ordered the case sealed which means all hearings will be closed to the public and all legal motions will be confidential, according to The Baltimore Banner.

"No party is permitted to share any filing or communication," Vittoria wrote.  

The Baltimore Banners reports that Judge Vittoria directed the attorneys to deliver their filings to his chambers and not submit them to the clerk's office.  

Survivors and those representing survivors of the alleged sexual assaults believe this is an attempt to block the release of the report.

The legal fight is to expose the accused priests and church leaders named in the 456-page report that alleges sexual abuse of nearly 600 children spanning over decades.  

"It's very disappointing because we now don't have any insight into what the arguments are for, what should be redacted, if you know redacted or if the whole report should be sealed," said David Lorenz, Director of Maryland SNAP, a survivors network of those abused by priests. "And so we really don't know how to respond or help the judge come to an understanding of why we may disagree with those people who want to redact a significant or all of it."

The state's top prosecutor filed a motion seeking approval from the Circuit Court of Baltimore City to release its 456-page report on abuse in the diocese to the public.

After the AG filed his motion, the Archdiocese of Baltimore issued a statement saying it would not oppose the report's release.

"I know it takes time to rebuild and earn trust," Archbishop William Lori said. "Our sincere hope is that this process will provide a measure of closure and a measure of healing for victim survivors."

The report allegedly identifies 158 priests and over 600 victims in the diocese since 1940. 

"For decades, survivors reported sexual abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests and for decades the Church covered up the abuse rather than holding the abusers accountable and protecting its congregations," Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement. "The Archdiocese of Baltimore was no exception."

The Attorney General's Office said the report summarizes the sexual abuse and physical torture perpetrated by all 158 of the identified priests who allegedly carried out sexual abuse on both boys and girls ranging in age from preschool to young adulthood. 

"The investigation also revealed the Archdiocese failed to report many allegations, conduct adequate investigations, remove abusers, or restrict their access to children," the motion states. "Instead it went to great lengths to keep the abuse secret. While the archdiocese reported a large number of allegations to police, especially in later years, for decades it worked to ensure that the perpetrators would not face justice."

After the Attorney General filed his motion, the Archdiocese of Baltimore issued a statement saying it would not oppose the report's release and would be paying legal fees for some of the people named in the report who are not accused of sexual abuse.

"We also pledged to support the rights of some people who are mentioned in the report but are not accused of abuse and who were not given the ability to respond to the attorney general during the investigation," Archbishop William Lori said. "Now they deserve to be heard by the court and we will pay their legal fees to ensure that they are heard."

Maryland SNAP members said these latest decisions by the Archdiocese and the court are a slap in the face to victims who have been fighting for justice for years.

They are working with a legal team to get the report released.

"It's just it's clearly hypocrisy at its greatest," Lorenz said. "You just can't imagine how hard that is on the survivors who feel like they've battled hard for so many years just to survive, and then to have this pulled out by artificial glory is just it's just devastating."

WJZ has received information that some of the victims in this investigation will be holding a news conference with Jenner Law Firm at noon on Wednesday.

We have reached out to the AG's office for comment on this update in the case. They said they cannot comment.