Archdiocese of Baltimore supports release of sexual abuse report, but lawyers want to keep case secret
BALTIMORE -- The Maryland Office of the Attorney General says attorneys representing people named, but not accused, in child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore want a judge to keep secret all the filings of the case.
In a filing attorneys representing an unidentified number of anonymous people have asked the court to shield this case from public view.
The Office of the Attorney General in Maryland is pushing the judge to release the findings 456-page report into nearly 600 children sexually abused by about 160 priests.
"They do not explain what interest they have in keeping the proceedings secret or why secrecy is necessary to protect that interest," the Maryland Office of the Attorney General said. "This case involves the sexual abuse of children and an institution's attempt to cover-up that abuse. Baldly claiming an interest in keeping these proceedings secret is insufficient. As will be explained more fully in the Attorney General's response, the Motion to Seal should be denied."
"This sweeping request violates the 'longstanding tradition of access to court proceedings and records,'" Assistant Attorney General Carrie Williams wrote, quoting case law, our media partners with The Baltimore Banner reports.
On Tuesday evening, the Archdiocese of Baltimore issued a statement on the report.
"We believe that transparency is necessary to rebuild the trust that has been damaged by evil acts of abuse committed by representatives of the Church and by historic failures of Church leadership to respond adequately to those acts," the statement said.
The Archdiocese has changed for the better over time, but it must still acknowledge its past, according to the statement. That said, the Archdiocese wants any report "should fully recognize the numerous important efforts of the Archdiocese over the past decades to create a culture intolerant of abuse of any kind."
Williams indicated her office plans to submit additional arguments by Dec. 6 that the case file should remain open to public view. Her filing also indicates that a judge has not yet ordered the matter closed—yet court officials have repeatedly told The Baltimore Banner this week that they are unable to disclose information about the case.
On Nov.17, the Office of the Attorney General filed a motion to disclose the information contained in documents produced in response to a grand jury subpoena.
The information that the Office seeks to disclose is contained in a report on clergy abuse in Maryland. The report was filed under seal, as an attachment to the motion.
Because the motion itself did not contain any grand jury material, it was not filed under seal.
On November 21, according to the attorney general, attorneys purporting to represent unnamed individuals identified in the Attorney General's Report moved for an order requiring all filings in the above-captioned case, regardless of content, to be placed under seal, and that motion refuses to identify the interested parties outside the context of a sealed proceeding.
According to The Baltimore Banner, Maryland law typically allows 15 days for an opposing party, in this case the church, to respond to the attorney general's request to release the report. A spokesman for the archdiocese has said the church does not oppose the release of a report that's fair and accurate. But the church has had a copy since last Tuesday, and the archdiocese spokesman declined to say if the church found this report fair and accurate, and would agree to its release.
