Ordained: 1965
Status: Accused
Died: 05/7/2001
Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore MD
Father Joseph Maskell was a parish priest, Keough High chaplain, and counselor, as well as a police chaplain. According to a 1994 lawsuit, he abused girls at Keough High School in the late 1960s-early 1970s. He was also the subject of an investigation into the 1969 murder of Sr. Catherine Cesnik. A former student claimed that she told Sr. Cathy about the abuse by Maskell, and soon after, Sr. Cathy went missing and was later found murdered. In 1994, the former student claimed that Father Joseph Maskell drove her to a remote area and showed her the body. The Archdiocese settled with her in January 2017.
Another former student claimed that two police officers sexually abused her while Maskell looked on. The victims were said to have been drugged and shown a gun. Maskell was placed on leave in 1992, reinstated in 1993-1994, and removed again in 1994 after new allegations. He fled to Ireland and worked as a psychologist, including with children, until his death in 2001. His name was included on the Archdiocese’s list in September 2002. By May 2017, the Archdiocese had paid $472K to 16 people with accusations against Maskell. In May 1967, one man’s mother reported to the Archdiocese that Maskell sexually abused him as an 8th-grade altar boy, and Maskell was then moved to Keough. In May 2017, an Irish accuser came forward, and the HSE was investigating in June 2017.