22 Facts About Joseph Maskell

Joseph Maskell served the Archdiocese of Baltimore as a counselor from 1965 to 1994.

Anthony Joseph Maskell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Joseph Francis Maskell and Susie Helen Jenkins, and grew up in Northeast Baltimore.

Joseph Maskell preferred to be called Joseph in deference to Saint Joseph.

Joseph Maskell was ordained on May 22,1965, at the age of 26.

Joseph Maskell's peers described him as "deeply intelligent" and "fascinated with psychology".

In 1972, Joseph Maskell earned a master's degree in school psychology from Towson State University, and then a certificate of advanced study in counseling from Johns Hopkins University.

Joseph Maskell simultaneously worked at the all-girls Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore from 1967 to 1975 as a counselor and chaplain, but was removed from the school by a new headmistress after she received complaints about him from parents.

Joseph Maskell was transferred to the Division of Schools from 1975 to 1980, served at Annunciation from 1980 to 1982 and at Holy Cross from 1982 to 1992.

Joseph Maskell was finally sent to St Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Elkridge as a pastor from 1993 to 1994, before being "prohibited" from the ministry after further abuse allegations surfaced in 1994.

Joseph Maskell had concurrently in his career served as chaplain for the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Maryland National Guard, and the Air National Guard where he was a lieutenant colonel.

Joseph Maskell kept a police scanner and a loaded gun in his car.

Teresa Lancaster, another alleged victim at Keough, stated that on Halloween of 1970, Joseph Maskell drove her to a popular location where students gathered.

Joseph Maskell was removed from the ministry that year, and sent for evaluation and "treatment" at The Institute of Living.

Joseph Maskell was reinstated in 1993 after the Archdiocese claimed it was unable to corroborate the allegation through an internal investigation.

Joseph Maskell was removed from the ministry on July 31,1994.

That same year, following the abuse allegations, Joseph Maskell fled to Wexford, Ireland, and was placed on "temporary leave".

Joseph Maskell was ordered not to perform any of his priestly duties.

Ferns Diocese kept a file on Joseph Maskell dating from April 19,1995, to September 22,1998.

Joseph Maskell claimed his innocence until his death due to a stroke on May 7,2001.

Joseph Maskell's body was exhumed on February 28,2017, prior to the release of the Netflix documentary series The Keepers, for DNA testing involving the murder of Cathy Cesnik.

Joseph Maskell's DNA did not match the forensic profile from 1970, although investigators noted that this did not definitively rule him out as a suspect.

Abbie Schaub, a former student of Cesnik, expressed frustration that the HSE refused to release documentation to her concerning how Joseph Maskell was hired by the Eastern Health Board in 1995.