Signing of Child Victims Act of 2023

After fighting the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, the lobbyists and the General Assembly for 30 years, the statute of limitations for filing lawsuits against abusers was finally eliminated! Here my husband, Randy Lancaster, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore celebrate his signing of the Child Victims Act of 2023 into law.

Attorney

Teresa Fidelis Lancaster, Esquire is an Attorney and advocate for victims of sexual abuse. As an adult, mother, survivor and widow, Teresa returned to school to obtain her BA in Social Work from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) with Cum Laude.  She worked as a Social Work Intern at the Baltimore Public Defender’s Office in the Juvenile Division where she advocated for juvenile offenders.  Teresa left Social Work to pursue law, her true passion.  Teresa went on to earn her JD from The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law with honors and a Health Law Certificate in 2002.   She is a standing member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society as well as Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity.  Teresa joined the Suder Law Firm, P.A. to represent the survivors of child sexual abuse in their struggle to seek justice.

Survivor

Teresa is probably best known from being featured in The Keepers, a seven-part documentary currently on Netflix. She was the second sexual assault victim to come forward and sue the Archdiocese of Baltimore, as Jane Roe, for sexual abuse by Fr. Joseph Maskell at Archbishop Keough High School in the 70s.

Advocate

Teresa has been very visible in her work to help pass a bill in the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis to eliminate the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits against sexual abusers of children. Years of hard work finally paid off April 2023 with the passage of the Child Victims Act of 2023. She works frequently with SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). Their recent work has been to reveal the names of accused perpetrators named in the 450+ page Maryland Attorney General Report released April 2023. While names of some living accused perpetrators were redacted in the report, Teresa, SNAP and many of the Keepers survivors fought to have those names revealed.

Author

Teresa Lancaster, has authored her memoir, Safe in Socks.

“The book is not just about the mental and sexual abuse at the hands of a messed up priest and his friends, but also of heartache and trials and the successes that follow one brave woman’s life who now advocates for others.”

“How she survived this abuse and the tragedies that followed her in her adult life speaks to an inner strength few people possess.”

Teresa’s research articles, Battered Women Syndrome, A License to Kill? And Employment Discrimination Based on Genetic Predisposition to Disease were published in the Medical Trial Technique Quarterly (MTTQ) in 2004.  (MTTQ Vol. 50, No. 4, pp.121-162, Thomson West, 2004; Vol.50, No.3 pp.199-223, Thomson West, 2004)   In 2008,

Speaker

Teresa is probably best known from being featured in The Keepers, a seven-part documentary currently on Netflix. She was the second sexual assault victim to come forward and sue the Archdiocese of Baltimore, as Jane Roe, for abuse by Fr. Joseph Maskell at Archbishop Keough High School in the 70s.
Teresa has spoken at rallies and universities about her experiences as a survivor of abuse. She most recently was seen on a CNN Special Report about the release of the Maryland Attorney General Report of child sexual abuse of children by priests and employees of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.

“Safe in Socks: My Memoir”

by Teresa Lancaster (Author), Annette Horan (Preface)

“The book is not just about the mental and sexual abuse at the hands of a messed up priest and his friends, but also of heartache and trials and the successes that follow one brave woman’s life who now advocates for others.”

“How she survived this abuse and the tragedies that followed her in her adult life speaks to an inner strength few people possess.”