Father Daniel Free
Ordained: 1952
Removed: 2000
Died: 2016
Assignment History:
- 1954-1955: Immaculate Conception Monastery (Jamaica, NY)
- 1955-1971: St. Joseph's Monastery (Baltimore, MD)
- 1971-1974: St. Gabriel Monastery (Brighton, MA)
- 1974-1976: St. Joseph's Monastery (Baltimore, MD)
- 1984-2000: St. Agnes Hospital (Baltimore, MD)
- 2000-2009: Holy Family Monastery (West Hartford, CT)
- 2009-2016: Immaculate Conception Monastery (Jamaica, NY)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father Daniel Free
Fr. Daniel Free was ordained a Passionist priest and worked in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In 2019, Free 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 Free.
According to the Attorney General's report, in 1998, a woman reported to the Archdiocese of Baltimore that she was sexually abused by Fr. Free and other priests when she was 13-14 years old in the mid-1960s. She described the abuse as "physical torture" and said some of the other priests wore masks. The victim told Fr. Free in confession that she had been sexually abused by her father and grandfather in the first and second grades. The archdiocese made the mandatory report of abuse to authorities.
The Passionists were notified of the abuse in October 1999. In 2000, Free was removed from his assignment at St. Agnes Hospital and transferred to a monastery in Hartford, Connecticut. The Passionist Provincial described Free as being "rather an innocent type" and "having been taken advantage of by the prostitutes seeking money."
In 2012, another victim separately reported that she had been abused by Free when she was approximately five years old, in the mid-1950s, at St. Joseph's Monastery Church. This victim also described the abuse as "torture" and also mentioned that Free and a few of the other men involved wore masks. The archdiocese made the mandatory report of abuse to authorities, though. nothing was done about it until 2018, when the victim asked why he wasn't listed on their credibly accused list. Free was listed as "credibly Accused" the following year.
Fr. Free died in 2016.
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 adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.