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Assignment Record – Rev. Garrett "Gary" D. Orr, S.J.

Summary of Case: Orr was accused in the fall of 2003 of having molested one of his Georgetown Preparatoryy students in 2002. The school didn't report the accusation to the police until May 2004. He was not charged at the time. Although "suspended", Orr was allowed involvement in Campus Ministry and to direct a musical production at Loyola College in Maryland. A Jesuit review board deemed the accusation to be "substantially true" in 2006. Another man reported to the police in 2010 that Orr sexually abused him when he was a Georgetown Prep student in 1989. Police investigated, reopened the previous case, and arrested Orr in January 2011 on charges of sexually abusing the two students. Orr pleaded guilty and was sentenced in November 2011 to five years' probation. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

Ordained
: 1983
   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes
1983 1984         Orr is not indexed in the 1984 Directory, but later volumes note his ordination year to have been 1983.

1984

Philadelphia archbishop was John Joseph Krol (1961-1988), followed by Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (1987-2003).

1989 St. Joseph's Preparatory Jesuit Community Philadelphia PA This Jesuit high school had 888-760 students, all male.
1989 1990         Orr is not indexed or listed at his previous or subsequent assignments in the 1990 Directory.

1989

Washington D.C. archbishop was James Aloysius Hickey (1980-2000), followed by Theodore Edgar McCarrick (2000-2006).

2003 Georgetown Preparatory School

Rockville/North Bethesda

Orr was accused in the Fall of 2003 of having sexually abused a Georgetown Prep. student in 2002. The school waited until May of 2004 to report the accusation to the police. Orr was not charged.

Orr was arrested in January 2011, charged with the sexual abuse of two former Georgetown Prep students, one whose report in 2003 did not lead to charges, and the other who said Orr abused him in 1989. Both former students were living in the school's dormitory at the times of the abuse. Both accusers said the abuse involved fondling.

MD religion, Latin and theater teacher; Superior 2000-2006

This Jesuit boarding school had 399-445 students, all male.

Per a Georgetown Prep official in a 2011 letter to the school community, Orr was assigned to the school in 1989.

 

2003

Baltimore archbishop was William Henry Keeler (1989-2007).

2006 Loyola College Baltimore MD teacher Orr was suspended from his "priestly standing" when the police were contacted in May 2004. He stayed, however, at Loyola through the 2004-2005 school year, "without one-on-one contact with students.", per the Provincial of the Maryland Jesuits. The school's student newspaper reported that Orr worked during that time in Campus Ministry, as a retreat and prayer group coordinator and participant, and he directed the school's production of "Godspell".

2006

Edwin Frederick O'Brien replaced Keeler as archbishop (2007- ).

2009 Baltimore Jesuit Fathers and Brothers Maryland Provincial Curia Baltimore MD   Per 2006 news reports, a Jesuit Review Board deemed the accusation as "substantially true." The police investigation was suspended in March 2005, without charges being filed. The Jesuits gave Orr a year's leave of absence in September 2005, and he was told not to visit Georgetown Prep.
2009 2011         Orr pleaded guilty in September 2011 to charges of sexually abusing two former Georgetown Prep. students. He was sentenced to five years' probation, and ordered to register as a sex offender. He was living in Pittsburgh PA at the time of his sentencing.


Sources
: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1984-2009)

Prep School Concedes to Abuse Charge, By Julia Duin, The Washington Times, April 19, 2006
Allegations Exposed; Orr Gone Amidst Abuse Charges, By Terry Foy, Loyola Greyhound, April 25, 2006
Inquiry Backs Complaint against Priest, Student Was Touched Inappropriately, Jesuit Officials Say, By Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post , April 28, 2006
Jesuit Ousted 13 Years after Sex Allegations, By Ron Cassie, The Examiner, April 13, 2007
Loyola College Removes Priest for Old Allegations, Associated Press, carried in WJZ, April 13, 2007
After Child Abuse Accusations, Catholic Priests Often Simply Vanish, By William Wan and Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, December 2, 2010
Letter to Georgetown Prep Community from School Official, January 26, 2011
Georgetown Prep and Modern Liberal Catholicism, By Mark Judge, Daily Caller, January 31, 2011
Former Priest Indicted on Sexual Abuse Charges, By Alex Ruoff, The Gazette, February 23, 2011
Former Georgetown Prep Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sex Offenses, By Steven Ertelt, The Gazette, September 13, 2011
Former Georgetown Prep Priest Gets Probation, Must Register As Sex Offender, By Danielle E. Gaines, The Gazette, November 10, 2011
Former Priest Put on Probation for Fondling Two Georgetown Prep Students, By Dan Morse, Washington Post, November 11, 2011



Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Orr's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Sept. 7, 2014.


 
 

 
 

 
 




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