Ordained: 1971
Status: Settled
Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore MD
Father Francis LeFevre has been accused of fondling and raping young boys. Some of the reported abuse occurred during car trips to Avalon, NJ. In 1987, his faculties were revoked following reports of sexually abusing numerous minors in the 1970s and 1980s. Father Francis LeFevre later admitted to the accusations and was sent to CT for treatment. He was then allowed to reside in a parish rectory in Hartford but returned to Baltimore after a few months. Despite the allegations, he continued to work as a statistics expert for the archdiocese and lived in a parish rectory, where he was permitted to assist with masses in that parish and others. However, in 1989, his faculties were restricted by the new Archbishop Keeler.
In a 1995 lawsuit, LeFevre was accused of abusing a boy between 1975 and 1976, when the child was 11 to 12 years old. The abuse was reported to the archdiocese in 1992, but the lawsuit was eventually dismissed. Another report in 1995 involved the abuse of a boy at the age of 10 in 1975-1976. In 2008, a man came forward and stated that LeFevre had fondled him in 1974 when he was 11 or 12 years old at St. Anthony of Padua. Additionally, there were allegations of abuse involving boys aged 11 to 13 behind the altar at St. Anthony’s between 1969 and 1971. Two more reports in 2009 described the abuse of boys aged 11 to 12 in the 1980s at St. Ursula’s. In 2012, a man alleged abuse during his early teenage years (ages 11-13) in the early 1970s. Another report in 2013 involved the abuse of a boy aged 11 to 13 between 1969 and 1971. An allegation of abuse in 2018 involved a boy at the age of 13 in 1974. A settlement of $50,000 was reached with this individual in 2014. Father Francis LeFevre’s name appeared on the archdiocese’s list of accused individuals in September 2002 and was also included in the Maryland Attorney General’s report on April 5, 2023.