Fr. William Q. Simms
Archdiocese of Baltimore
Ordained: 1962
Retired: 2002
Died: 2005
Assignment History:
- 1950s: St. Martin’s Summer Camp (Baltimore, MD)
- 1962-1966: Basilica of the Assumption (Baltimore, MD)
- 1966-1971: St. Joseph Parish (Cockeysville, MD)
- 1969-1978: Baltimore County Police and Fire Departments
- 1971-1978: St. Ursula Parish (Parkville, MD)
- 1978-1981: St. Joseph-on-Carrolton Parish (Buckeystown, MD)
- 1981-1985: St. Andrew by the Bay Parish (Cape St. Claire, MD)
- 1986: Chaplain Trainee, Sacred Heart Hospital (Cumberland, MD)
- 1987-2002: Tribunal of the Archdiocese (Baltimore, MD)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father William Q. Simms
Fr. William Q. Simms was a Catholic priest and worked at various parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In 2002, Fr. Simms 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 Simms.
According to the Attorney General’s report, Fr. Simms was banned from the St. Martin’s summer camp at some point in the 1950s for some undisclosed sexual problem. In 1984 or 1985, parishioners and parents at St. Andrew in Cape St. Claire began to raise concern over Fr. Simms sexually abusing young boys serving as or training to serve as altar boys.
According to a lawsuit filed in 1988, a victim and his family accused Fr. Simms of sexually abusing the victim in 1982 while he was an altar boy. Fr. Simms directed the victim to dress in sexually provocative outfits and then sexually abused him. The Archdiocese entered into a settlement with the victim and his family in 1989.
According to Archdiocesan records, a second victim made the Archdiocese aware that he had been sexually abused by Fr. Simms while a parishioner and altar boy at St. Andrew in 1985. The Archdiocese entered into a settlement with the victim and his family in 1986.
According to a second lawsuit filed in 1988, a victim serving as an altar boy in 1984 was directed by Fr. Simms to dress in sexually provocative costumes and was then sexually abused by Fr. Simms. The Archdiocese entered into a settlement with the victim and his family in 1990. In 1985, according to Archdiocesan records, Fr. Simms entered treatment at St. Luke’s Institute and was recommended to be removed from his parish.
In 1994, a man reported having been sexually abused by Fr. Simms in the 1970s when the victim was ten years old. The victim was an actor in a parish play at St. Ursula in Parkville when he was asked by Fr. Simms to practice alone in the rectory, where he was then sexually abused by Fr. Simms. Fr. Simms directed the victim to wear sexually provocative costumes and then sexually abused the victim.
According to the report, a man reported in 1997 that he had been sexually abused by Fr. Simms while he was a child attending St. Joseph’s Church in Cockeysville. Fr. Simms directed the victim to dress in costume and then sexually abused him. In 1997, the State’s Attorney for Baltimore County charged Fr. Simms with criminal counts of perverted practice.
In 2002, a victim reported being sexually abused by Fr. Simms when he was in 4th grade and training to serve as an altar boy at St. Ursula’s in Parkville. The victim was practicing to appear in a play organized by Fr. Simms. Prior to the performance, Fr. Simms pulled the victim out of class under the guise of practice, began to wrestle with the victim, and then sexually abused him.
In 2002, four brothers reported being the victims of inappropriate behavior by Fr. Simms in the 1980s while they were children attending St. Andrew in Cape St. Claire. Fr. Simms had sexually abused at least two brothers. Fr. Simms was a friend of the victim’s family and invited all four brothers to visit him in the rectory. Fr. Simms would show the victims pornography and bring the younger brothers into his bedroom. In Fr. Simms’s bedroom, the victims were instructed to undress and wrestle. On another occasion, Fr. Simms instructed the brothers to undress as he would touch them under the guise of acting out a play. These allegations were detailed in the Attorney General’s report.
According to the report, in 2016, a woman reported that her son had been sexually abused by Fr. Simms while he was an altar boy at St. Andrew in the 1980s.
According to the report, in 2019, a man reported being sexually abused by Fr. Simms at St. Ursula in the 1970s when he was 8 to 10 years old. Fr. Simms directed the victim to come to Fr. Simm’s bedroom and dress up in provocative costumes under the guise of a play, where Fr. Simms would take pictures of the victim and sexually abuse him. Fr. Simms also brought the victim on a three-day trip, where Fr. Simms again sexually abused the victim.
According to the report, in 2020, a man reported having been sexually abused by Fr. Simms at St. Ursula in the 1970s. The victim’s family would send the victim to stay overnight with Fr. Simms in his bedroom. During these visits, Fr. Simms would engage the victim in wrestling games, which included sexual abuse of the victim.
According to the report, in 2021, a victim was sexually abused by Fr. Simms between 1971 and 1974 while the victim was a student at St. Ursula.
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.