Ordained: 1974
Status: Settled
Died: 01/18/2018
Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore MD
In 1991, a member of the church reported that teenagers, including one of Father Steven Girard’s foster sons, were allowed to consume whiskey in the rectory. Additionally, reports emerged that year regarding Father Girard’s problematic and erratic behavior. In 2002, he received one year of probation after falsely claiming to have been a victim of a carjacking. In reality, he had picked up a male prostitute who later stole his car. The man claimed that he and Girard had smoked crack cocaine and consumed alcohol in St. Clement’s rectory. As a result, Father Girard was sent to St. Luke Institute.
In April 2004, a young man came forward and alleged that Father Girard had sexually abused him, including rape, when he was a third-grader at St. Clement in the early 1990s. The first instance occurred during confession, and the victim claimed that Girard had threatened to castrate him if he told anyone. The police were notified, and the Archdiocese conducted an investigation. Father Girard denied the allegations. Tragically, the accuser died by suicide in 2005. His parents later sued the Archdiocese in December 2007 and received a $200,000 settlement. Father Girard passed away in 2018, and his name was included on the Archdiocese’s list on July 23, 2019. The MD Attorney General’s Report published on April 5, 2023, also contained his name.