Father Jerome “Jeff” Toohey
Archdiocese of Baltimore
Ordained: 1977
Removed: 1994
Laicized: 2008
Assignment History
- 1977-1984: St. Francis of Assisi (Baltimore, MD)
- 1980-1990: John Carroll High School (Baltimore, MD)
- 1987-1990: Baltimore County Police Department
- 1982-1993: Calvert Hall College High School (Baltimore, MD)
- 1984-1993: Chaplain to the Deaf Community
- 1984-1993: St. John the Evangelist (Hydes, MD)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father Jerome Toohey
Father Jerome “Jeff” Toohey was a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland. In 2002, Fr. Toohey was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list. In April 2023, Maryland’s Attorney General released a report alleging 156 Catholic clergy members sexually abused at least 600 children over six decades. The report lists the names of the abusers, including Father Jerome Toohey.
According to the AG’s report, two complaints were made about Fr. Toohey in 1990 by students at Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore, where Fr. Toohey was chaplain. The complaints included allegations of excessive touching of students during counseling sessions. In 1994, a man reported having been sexually abused by Fr. Toohey from 1985 to 1989, beginning when the victim was 15 years old and a student at John Carroll High School in Baltimore. The victim was sent to Fr. Toohey, who they knew from his role on the board at the school, for counseling after coming out to his parents as homosexual. The victim attended weekly counseling sessions at Fr. Toohey’s private residence, where he sexually abused him, according to the Attorney General’s report. In 1988, Fr. Toohey encountered the victim at a wake, where the victim was emotionally distraught. Fr. Toohey invited the victim to spend the night at his home. Fr. Toohey instructed the victim to sleep with him in his bed, where Fr. Toohey sexually abused him overnight.
In 2004, a man reported that he was abused by Fr. Toohey from 1987 to 1990 while the victim was a student at Calvert Hall. The victim’s mother requested Fr. Toohey act as a role model and mentor for her son. Fr. Toohey invited the victim to stay at his house and sleep in his room, where Fr. Toohey sexually abused the victim at least weekly over the course of three years. Fr. Toohey also sexually abused the victim at Calvert Hall.
According to the report, following the allegations, the archdiocese sent a letter to alumni of Calvert Hall who attended during Fr. Toohey’s tenure as chaplain inquiring about his behavior. An alumnus called to report that Fr. Toohey’s behavior was widely known and that Fr. Toohey had advised the caller not to report to his parents a separate incident of sexual abuse at the hands of a lay teacher at the school.
In 2015, a man reported that he was sexually abused by Fr. Toohey between 1980 and 1987 while working at the St. Francis Rectory in Baltimore. According to the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s criminal proceedings, Fr. Toohey pled guilty to sexually abusing a minor in 2005. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, with 3 ½ years suspended. He was released after serving ten months.
Fr. Toohey was removed from his faculties and placed on administrative leave by the Archdiocese of Baltimore following the allegations against him in approximately 1994. He was laicized in 2008.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Maryland, contact our office today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse nationwide. We can help. Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.