Fr. Anthony Joseph Maskell
Archdiocese of Baltimore
Ordained: 1965
Faculties Removed: 1994
Died: 2001
Assignment History:
- 1965-1966 Assistant, Sacred Heart of Mary, Baltimore, MD
- 1966-1968 Assistant, St. Clement, Lansdowne, MD
- 1968-1970 Associate Pastor, Our Lady of Victory, Baltimore, MD
- 1969-1970 Part-time Chaplain, Archbishop Keough High School, Baltimore, MD
- 1970-1975 Counselor, Archbishop Keough High School, Baltimore, MD
- Assistant, St. Clement, Lansdowne, MD
- 1975-1980 Psychological Services, Archdiocese Division of Catholic Schools
- Assistant, St. Clement, Lansdowne, MD
- 1980-1982 Associate Pastor, Annunciation, Baltimore, MD
- 1982-1992 Pastor, Holy Cross, Baltimore, MD
- 1993-1994 Administrator, St. Augustine, Elkridge, MD
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Fr. A. Joseph Maskell:
Fr. Anthony Joseph Maskell was one of the 156 priests identified by the Maryland Attorney General as having been accused of sexually abusing minors during their tenure with the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The story of Maskell’s alleged of abuse of female students at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore was the subject of the 2017 docu-series, “The Keepers,” on Netflix.
According to the Attorney General’s report, Fr. Maskell not only performed pastoral functions, but also served the Church as a psychological counselor for students at Catholic schools. Most of the reports made against Fr. Maskell stem from his time as a psychological counselor at Archbishop Keough High School, a school for girls. According to media reports, at least 39 people have reported that they or someone they know had been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell.
According to the Attorney General’s report, a victim reported in 1992 that she had been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell and another priest identified by the Maryland Attorney General, Neil Magnus. The victim was repeatedly sexually abused by Fr. Maskell every two to three weeks for multiple years throughout the late 1960, when she was a teenager. A teacher at Archbishop Keough High School, where Fr. Maskell was assigned, Sister Cathy Cesnik asked the victim if anybody was hurting her. Sister Cesnik went missing in 1969 and her body was discovered in 1970. Fr. Maskell brought the victim to a remote area and showed her Sr. Cesnik’s body.
According to the Attorney General’s report, the Institute of Living reported in 1992 that Fr. Maskell was involved in a very public relationship with a young teenage girl, possibly a sexual relationship.
According to the Attorney General’s report, Fr. Maskell was the subject of a lawsuit filed in 1994 for the sexual abuse of a student at Archbishop Keough High School in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The victim went to Fr. Maskell for counseling, where Fr. Maskell instructed the victim to remove her clothes. Fr. Maskell then sexually abused the victim. On other occasions, Fr. Maskell sexually abused the victim under the guise of medical exams. On several occasions, Fr. Maskell called another student into his office and instructed them to sexually abuse the victim. The victim was called from class to Fr. Maskell’s office approximately 20-30 times over the course of 3 years.
According to the Attorney General’s report, another victim reported in 1994 having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell in the 1970s. The victim was a student at Archbishop Keough High School and one day became sick, resulting in Fr. Maskell insisting on driving the victim home. Fr. Maskell then sexually abused the victim. When Fr. Maskell and the victim arrived at the victim’s house, the victim’s family was not home, and Fr. Maskell instead brought the victim back to the rectory and made her lie on his bed. In 2017, the victim reported that Fr. Maskell had also drugged and sexually abused her on multiple occasions. The victim also reported that her sister had been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell.
According to the Attorney General’s report, a victim reported in 1994 having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell over the course of several years in the early 1970s. Soon after arriving at Archbishop Keough High School, Fr. Maskell befriended her at a school event, led her away from the group and brought her to a man waiting in a police car. The man, Neil Magnus, then raped her. Over the course of the next three years, Fr. Maskell would call the victim to his office and “hypnotize” her, before sexually abusing her. Fr. Maskell also threatened the victim with a gun, including putting a gun in the victim’s mouth. The victim was expelled from the school prior to graduating. The victim entered a settlement with the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 2016.
According to the Attorney General’s report, between 1994 and 2004, an additional four victims reported having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell. These abuses included Fr. Maskell asking victims detailed sexual questions, inviting a student on his boat, and showing student pornography. The Archdiocese entered a settlement with one of these victims in 2011.
According to the Attorney General’s report, between 2015 and 2018, an additional 31 victims reported having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell.
According to the Attorney General’s report, 16 of these victims provided detailed reports of abuse that occurred while they were students at Keough High School in the late 1960s and 1970s. At least nine described being given a beverage and then “hypnotized” and remembering very little of the ensuing events. Several reported that their outfits were incorrectly buttoned, or their clothes were wet or bloody. Fr. Maskell threatened several of his victims with a gun, threatened to have them expelled, or threatened to cause the victims’ parents to lose their jobs.
According to the Attorney General’s report, one victim reported having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell at St. Martin’s summer camp, when he was 11 or 12 years old. Fr. Maskell pulled down the victim’s pants and sexually abused him. The adult counselors at the camp played strip poker with campers in a nearby cabin.
According to the Attorney General’s report, another victim reported having been sexually abused when he was a 7th grade student. Fr. Maskell repeatedly sexually abused the victim, eventually drugging the victim, and including Neil Magnus and a nun in the sexual abuse. Fr. Maskell also instructed the victim to watch as Fr. Maskell sexually abused a student from Archbishop Keough High School.
According to the Attorney General’s report, a woman reported having been repeatedly sexually abused by Fr. Maskell in 1986 and 1987, while she was a preschooler at Holy Cross in Baltimore. Fr. Maskell would sexually abuse the victim, videotape himself sexually abusing the victim, and videotape the victim engaging in sexual acts with young boys. Other men were sometimes involved as well.
According to the Attorney General’s report, another victim reported having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell at Our Lady of Victory in Baltimore, when she was 9 and 10 years old. Fr. Maskell gave the victim wine and “hypnotized” her, forced her to pose nude for pictures, and repeatedly sexually and physically abused her. Fr. Maskell also repeatedly threatened her with a knife and threatened her family.
According to the report, a woman reported in 2015 that she had been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell in 1992, when she was 25 years old. Fr. Maskell was helping the victim to select her mother’s burial site at the Holy Cross Cemetery, where Fr. Maskell sexually assaulted the victim.
According to the report, a woman reported in 2018 having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell while she was his secretary at Archbishop Keough High School. She was given soda laced with drugs and taken to a gynecological office, where she was examined with Fr. Maskell and other men present.
According to the Attorney General’s report, a man reported in 2018 having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell in 1966 at St. Clement in Lansdowne. The victim was an altar boy and performed mass with Fr. Maskell on multiple occasions. On one occasion, when the victim was 13 years old, Fr. Maskell masturbated in front of the victim and attempted to sexually abuse the victim. Fr. Maskell was then transferred in 1967 to Archbishop Keough High School.
According to the Attorney General’s report, another man reported in 2018 having been sexually abused by Fr. Maskell in 1966 while the victim was a student at St. Clement. When the victim was 13 years old, Fr. Maskell was driving with the victim, and sexually assaulted the victim under the guise of the car hitting a bump. Fr. Maskell repeatedly appeared naked in front of the victim.
According to the Attorney General’s report, the Archdiocese of Baltimore financially supported Fr. Maskell until at least 2000. The same report says the Archdiocese of Baltimore reached settlements with at least 15 of Fr. Maskell’s victims.
According to the Attorney General’s report, Fr. Maskell died in 2001.
Fr. Maskell’s name appears on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s list of priests credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Maryland, contact our office today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse nationwide. We can help. Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.