The Keepers: Some Prayers Answered

More on Netflix’s True Crime Bingefest
(Cathy Cesnik’s Murder)

The last post discussed the surprising nature of the new Netflix docuseries The Keepers.

Jean Wehner in 1970

For this week, I sailed through a second viewing of the entire seven-part series about the link between Sister Cathy Cesnik’s 1969 murder and sexual abuse at a girls parochial school in Baltimore.

The goal was to look for some joy in the disturbing series. And it does exist — in seeing the survivors finally get a chance to meet one another.

Justice denied. For the most part, the girls, now women in their 60s, had kept secret the ritualized sex crimes allegedly orchestrated by Archbishop Keough High School’s chaplain, Father Joseph Maskell. They never had an opportunity to empathize with one another in high school, when their ordeals began.

And they got no comfort from the criminal justice system. Maskell never paid for his offenses, nor did the other alleged perpetrators, including Father Neil Magnus, gynecologist Christian Richter, and at least two police officers.

Both of the priests and the doctor are long dead. No one has identified the police officers by name.

Photo of the book Forensic Files Now
BOOK IN STORES AND ONLINE!

Another of the suspects, a local reprobate named Edgar Davidson, submitted to an interview for the cameras. Although unaffiliated with Maskell professionally, he somehow gained his acquaintanceship and may have committed at least one rape under his supervision.

But Davidson seemed far removed from his former self — the smirking young man with lush coiffed hair who cruised around middle schools and tried to entice girls into a stolen red sports car.

Archbishop Keough High, a site of the alleged abuse, changed names in 1988 and closed in 2017

So close. The now-elderly Davidson mentioned not driving anymore, presumably due to DUIs or poverty. His health looked so tenuous that one wonders whether he could survive a trial, if there is one, which seems doubtful.

And unfortunately, the statute of limitations for bringing a civil action against the church and school — for enabling and covering up the abuse — expired. A push to extend the limits via Bill 642, first introduced by Maryland House of Delegates Rep. C. T. Wilson in 2003, was unsuccessful initially.

The documentary showed abuse survivors Teresa Lancaster and Jean Wehner testifying before a sympathetic panel in the Maryland General Assembly.

Suppression trap. Lancaster explained why victims of sexual abuse sometimes take decades to tell authorities. “I was 40 years old when I came forward,” she said. “It took me that long to focus on my life and make something of myself.”

Proponents made a case for waiving the statute of limitations in part because memories of assaults can take decades to resurface, thus making them new allegations.

Wilson, himself a survivor of rapes committed by his adoptive father, testified as well about the need to extend the statute of limitations. “The problem with this is suppression,” he said. “You learn to live with the lie as a child, so you can certainly live with it as an adult.”

David Lorenz, another survivor of abuse (it’s not clear whether it’s related to the archdiocese) told the panel:

“Everyone has a secret. Stand up here and admit it to everybody, because that’s what you’re asking me to do. You’re asking people to take the deepest darkest secret they have and stand up in front of a jury and tell them.”

Survivor shaming. Kevin Murphy, a lawyer for the Maryland Catholic Conference, argued against the bill. He pointed to a “weakness of human memory” that could put accused “citizens” at risk.

Photo of the book Forensic Files Now
To order the book:
Amazon

Barnes & Noble
Books-a-Million
Target
Walmart
Indie Bound

He also asserted that allowing victims more time to come forward would give the sex criminals more time and opportunity to abuse additional victims.

Allison D’Allesandro, the Archdiocesan Director of Child and Youth Protection, offered up the same argument:

“The reality is that the perpetrator often remains in a position of close access to children until an allegation is reported to the civil authorities and the employer.”

For the sixth time, the bill died. State Senate President Mike Miller and Judiciary Chair Joe Vallario refused to let it come up for a vote.

Earlier victim. “I thought my colleagues would get behind me [after I testified]. I had no idea the battle I was in for,” Wilson said during a WBAL Radio interview. “When I realized it wasn’t even coming up for a vote, it was very painful…it was very humiliating.”

But The Keepers manages an ending that, while not exactly happy, offers some hope and yet another bit of joy.

Joseph Maskell circa 1969

First, the survivors learn of documentation of Maskell’s having abused a schoolboy named Charles Franz before the priest ever arrived at Archbishop Keough High School.

A 1967 complaint made by Franz’s mother to the archdiocese resulted in Maskell’s transfer from his job as associate pastor at Saint Clement Church to his post as a chaplain and guidance counselor at Archbishop Keough High.

The episode all but proved that the church had covered up the abuse committed by Maskell — allegations that would have helped substantiate Jean Wehner and Teresa Lancaster’s stories.

It also invalidated the church representatives’ argument that reporting sex crimes early is certain to prevent new ones from taking place.

At the end of the series, the producers show Jean Wehner’s cathartic reaction when she learns that archdiocese officials allegedly tried to buy Charles Franz’s silence (he declined) after she and Lancaster initiated legal action in the 1990s over Maskell’s abuse.

There’s more. And a nice post-documentary epilogue: C.T. Wilson managed to resurrect Bill 642. Once it finally came up for a vote, the Maryland House and Senate gave it a unanimous yes.

While the new rules still aren’t inclusive to all survivors, they give those sexually abused as minors the right to pursue damages — from individual offenders as well as organizations that allowed abuses to continue — up until 20 years after they reach majority age.

The old law set the time span at seven years so, for example, a little girl abused when she was a minor would have only until age 25 to sue for damages. Now, the law gives her up until age 38.

(The maximum amount of damages recoverable from offending organizations appears to have remained the same, at $800,000.)

Maryland’s C.T. Wilson

It’s official. The new law also enables victims to sue up until three years after a defendant is “convicted of a crime relating to alleged incident or incidents.”

On April 4, 2017, the day that Governor Larry Hogan signed Bill 642, he also approved six other pieces of legislation, including one outlawing fracking in the state. Sounds like an all-around good date in Maryland history.

That’s all for this post. Until next week, cheers. RR


P.S. Thanks to Crime Traveller editor Fiona Guy for including True Crime Truant in her site’s 50 Best Crime Blogs and Websites feature.

7 thoughts on “The Keepers: Some Prayers Answered”

  1. Another great post, RR. I appreciate your focus on hope in this one, as this was a disturbing and disheartening series for me to watch. While riveting, and beautifully done, it also left me feeling sad and disheartened. Not only because of the incredibly dark (and unpunished) deeds of Maskell, Magnus, et al., but also (and maybe especially) by the further victimization of the survivors at the hands of the archdiocese. (I was raised Catholic, and this probably amplifies my sense of disgust and betrayal at their systematic “look the other way” approach to sexual crimes committed by their priests.) However, as difficult as The Keepers was to watch at times, I was also moved by it, in particular by the courage of Jean Wehner in facing and sharing her history. (Her husband seemed like a pretty incredible guy, too, and I was glad she had such a champion in her corner, finally.) So a big thanks for recommending The Keepers. Definitely a worthwhile and compelling series; one I’ll likely binge-watch a second time as well.

    1. Thanks, Jean! The victimization of the survivors was so hard to watch. When the church reps implied the victims were to blame for not stopping the abusers, I really wanted to throw something at the screen.

      I was really impressed with Jean Wehner’s husband, too. She and Teresa Lancaster managed to pick the right partners.

  2. Great article! With the crime unsolved, maybe the show is unsettling for lack of closure. The show caused me to stew about institutions, in general, for the way creeps can work within them. The Keepers was a socially enriching binge watch.

    1. Thanks, Bruce! The story really was a chilling message about how power corrupts, especially within a revered institution.

  3. Franz is mistaken. Maskell did not leave St. Clements till 1968 of June. Maskell only worked part-time at Keough till 1970. In 1970 Maskell worked fulltime and went back to St. Clements to live and co-pastor till 1975. Sure does not seem they were hiding anyone. I don’t believe Franz knows his story well enough to tell it. His wife’s cousin is Edgar and Debbie’s cousin. Everyone is related in this story one way or another. Jean’s best friend was Maria from HS. Maria married John Rauser who is the brother of Susan, Edgar’s first wife.

  4. Gerry Koob is an established liar who had access to me from the age of 13 months. He spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, and sexually groomed me. Further, he was able to extend his abuse into the Marriage Encounter movement, using my mother as his local reputation “booster” in Philadelphia and its environs. I knew the lovely and loving Sister Cathy as a child: Koob brought her to my family home TWICE for weekend “get-aways” the summer before she “turned up missing.” HE IS A CREEPY SEXUAL PREDATOR WHO MUST BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d bloggers like this: