A woman who says she was sexually abused as a child at Calvert Hall College High School in May 2000 has filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore County institution, marking the first time a female survivor has brought allegations against the all-boys Catholic school.

The civil complaint, filed Tuesday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, alleges Brother Donald Dimitroff abused the plaintiff when she was “11, turning 12,” during tutoring sessions held on campus.

Dimitroff, who lived and worked at the school from the early ’90s until 2002, allegedly molested the girl under the guise “ensuring that she was not a boy.”

The complaint joins a growing wave of at least five other lawsuits accusing the school of negligence in its hiring and retention of accused abusers. The previous lawsuits, with a total of 19 plaintiffs, detail alleged abuse between 1969-1990 and name five alleged abusers.

The Calvert Hall Lawyers Working Group, a coalition of attorneys representing some of the survivors of alleged sexual abuse at the school, said there have been “decades” of cover-up from the school.

Rob Jenner, one of the attorneys in the working group, said he expects more filings against Calvert Hall in the future.

“I’ve received at least a half-dozen calls from survivors, and I know my colleagues are getting calls as well,” Jenner said Wednesday evening.

The new accusations

The lawsuit against Dimitroff is not the first time he’s faced allegations of sexual abuse. According to the Maryland Attorney General’s report on clergy sexual abuse, a man reported in 1997 that he had been abused by Dimitroff, who admitted to having a “relationship” with the victim.

Despite that admission, the lawsuit states, he remained on the Calvert Hall campus until 2002. Dimitroff, who died in 2024, is listed by the Archdiocese of Baltimore as a credibly accused abuser.

In addition to living on campus, Dimitroff was provided an office, which “in essence became a protected haven for Brother Dimitroff to molest students and children,” the lawsuit says.

In May 2000, the survivor’s father drove her to Calvert Hall for tutoring, the complaint says. On four occasions during “tutoring sessions,” Dimitroff abused her, the suit says, “under the purported guise of ensuring that she was not a boy.”

The plaintiff, identified as a Jane Doe, “has struggled in virtually every aspect of her life” because of the abuse, according to the lawsuit.

Calvert Hall “knew, had reason to know, or should have known” about Dimitroff’s abuse of students and children he tutored, the complaint says.

“He did so in the Calvert Hall school’s main building, in the Brothers’ Residence on Calvert Hall’s campus, and in a private home within several blocks of Calvert Hall ... [Dimitroff] abused children for decades behind a false veneer of moral authority and religious instruction,” the lawsuit says.

Calvert Hall did not respond to a request for comment specifically about the allegations against Dimitroff.

In a statement sent Monday, after the initial lawsuits were announced in a press conference, the school said it was “deeply saddened” by the abuse and said the victims’ pain and suffering “are real and remains with them today.”

“We are aware of documented cases from decades past, dating back over 50 years. While we acknowledge the gravity of those incidents, we reject any characterization of our current organization as one that creates barriers and is unresponsive,” Danielle Hladky, a spokeswoman for Calvert Hall, wrote in an email.

Changes to state law

The rush of civil lawsuits brought against Calvert Hall comes as Maryland faces significant changes to how childhood victims of sexual abuse can seek compensation through the courts.

Maryland passed the Child Victims Act in 2023, and it was upheld as constitutional earlier this year. The law removes time limits for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue schools, churches and other institutions — including the state — accused of covering up abuse.

This year, though, lawmakers made revisions to the law as they faced a state budget crunch and potentially billions in state liability. Gov. Wes Moore’s office said he intends to approve those changes, which will slash the amount of money survivors can win in court.