Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Allege Cover-Up At Baltimore County Catholic School

TOWSON, MD — Multiple sexual abuse lawsuits were announced Monday against Calvert Hall College High School, alleging that the all-boys, private Catholic school in Towson had covered up the abuse for decades.

The complaints claim that "Calvert Hall repeatedly ignored credible reports of sexual abuse, allowed known abusers continued access to students, and failed to report misconduct to authorities."

"Look at me as a 15-year-old who had his innocence and his Christianity and his faith stolen away from him by a monster, who never has had any accountability -- and the institution that allowed it to happen hasn't either," survivor Christopher "Kit" Bateman said, according to WBAL-TV.

Victims said they were silenced, dismissed or intimidated when they tried to speak up.

"Students swam naked and were observed through a window in an office that looked directly into the pool by clergy members with a history of abuse, by trusted adults," said Steve Kelly, a lawyer with Grant & Eisenhofer, according to WBAL.

The Baltimore Banner reported that the two complaints alleged abuse by clergy and staff at Calvert Hall from the 1970s to 1990.

A Calvert Hall spokesperson told The Banner the school is "deeply saddened" by the past abuse of students.

"Their suffering and pain are real and remains with them today," Calvert Hall Director of Marketing and Communications Danielle Hladky wrote to The Banner.

Maryland Matters reported that the allegations were levied against Brother Geoffrey Xavier Langan and Revs. Laurence Brett, Jerome Toohey and Francis LeFevre.

All four were named in the 2023 Maryland attorney general report on child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Maryland Matters said Stephen E. Arnold, a lay science teacher, is also accused of abuse in the Calvert Hall lawsuit.

The lawsuits came just before Maryland changes its child victims laws.

Lawyers urged Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to veto legislation limiting lawsuit payouts to child sexual abuse victims.

Maryland Matters said the current child sexual abuse law caps damages at $1.5 million per "occurrence." The cap was set at $890,000 per occurrence for state and local government entities.

Maryland Matters said the General Assembly passed HB1378 this year, capping claims filed after June 1 at $700,000 for private institutions and $400,000 for public ones.

A spokesperson for the governor told The Banner that Moore plans to sign the bill into law despite pushback from the survivors represented by the Calvert Hall Lawyers Working Group.

"These new lawsuits come as Maryland lawmakers advance legislation to weaken the state’s Child Victims Act (CVA)—a law passed just two years ago to allow survivors of child sexual abuse to seek justice, regardless of when the abuse occurred," Calvert Hall Lawyers Working Group said in a Monday press release. "The proposed amendments would cap compensation, restrict attorney fees, and limit survivors to filing only one lawsuit, regardless of how many times or by whom they were abused."