Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused
Died: 09/19/1994
Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore MD
Father Vincent Bechtel was publicly named by the Baltimore Archdiocese on April 24, 2019, after the Diocese of Harrisburg reported a claim of sexual abuse against him that occurred while he was assigned to Mt. St. Joseph High School. Father Vincent Bechtel had worked at the school from 1979-1989, and additional allegations of abuse during that time period surfaced after the initial report.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Report on April 5, 2023, revealed two separate reports in 1986 by teen boys, both former St. Joseph’s students, to their counselors of solicitation by Bechtel. No action was taken at the time. In 2018, a mother reported that her two sons were abused by Bechtel while they were students at Mt. St. Joseph’s, and a former student reported that Bechtel had fondled him in 1987 or 1988 when he was 15 or 16 years old.