In 2011, the Oblates of St Francis de Sales priests admitted that McDevitt was a child molestor as part of a lawsuit settlement in the State of Delaware.

[6] In 1962, McDevitt resigned from City Council to enter the seminary of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, the order of priests that taught at his high school.

[4] In his final session on the council, his colleagues praised his work there, and Councilman Victor E. Moore said that McDevitt "possesses certain attributes which would make him exemplary in his chosen profession.

"[4] In an investigation into graft in city government that followed McDevitt's departure, the seminarian initially declined to testify to the grand jury, but in 1964 answered District Attorney James C. Crumlish's questions there.

[citation needed] McDevitt's association with the Philadelphia Orphans’ Court, Summerdale Boys’ Club and all male Catholic high schools provided him access to minors.

In 2018, the Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church included the account of a male who stated that the adult McDevitt attempted to forcibly kiss him while in high school.