Bevan, Thomas (Fr.)

In February 2005, a man came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Monsignor Thomas Bevan. The man claimed that when he was ten years old in 1972, Bevan, then a priest at St. John the Evangelist Elementary School, took him to his cabin in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Bevan then sexually assaulted him, telling him it was acceptable because he was a priest. On another visit to the cabin, Bevan provided alcohol to altar boys and had them streak while he watched. Despite the victim’s report, recollections from the victim’s parents that their son went to the cabin, and Bevan’s friend’s confirmation that children were present at the time, the Archdiocese deemed the allegations not credible due to date discrepancies. In the 1990s, Bevan formed the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse and was elevated to Domestic Prelate with the title of Monsignor.

However, in subsequent years, more survivors came forward with similar accounts of abuse by Bevan throughout the 1970s, leading to his resignation in 2009. Several survivors have corroborated instances of “skinny dipping with kids” and sexual advances at his Emmitsburg Cabin.  Bevan eventually pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse, received a suspended prison sentence, and was required to register as a child sex offender. Throughout his assignments, Bevan had contact with other known abusers within the Catholic Church.