Ordained: 1963
Status: Accused
Died: 01/1/2003
Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore MD
In 1987, a report was made to the Archdiocese accusing Father Thomas Bauernfeind of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in the mid-1970s. The victim claimed to have reported the abuse at least twice before 1987, but no action was taken. Father Thomas Bauernfeind was sent to the House of Affirmation in Massachusetts for treatment and continued to work as a parish pastor. In 1991-1992, he took a medical leave of absence after a car accident and retired in 1998. In April 2002, his faculties were removed, and he was included on the Archdiocese’s list of priests accused of molesting children in October of that year.
In October 2002, a second woman reported that Bauernfeind had sexually abused her in approximately 1974 when she was 17 years old. She had also reported her abuse multiple times before 2002, but nothing was done. Both women reported attempted rape. Bauernfeind passed away on January 1, 2003.