St. Paul’s School, in Concord, NH, is facing the threat of criminal proceedings over allegations that it failed to protect students from sexual abuse and agreed Thursday to put the New Hampshire attorney general’s office in control of handling reports of possible child abuse on campus.
“Former students told investigators of a teacher who went skinny dipping with students, and one who took them for drives in his Rolls Royce. They describe vivid, disturbing memories and say, looking back, it is clear to them they were being groomed.”
In a letter to the school community, the president of the board of trustees, Archibald Cox Jr., apologized for the new lawsuit’s claims, which he did not dispute.
“…the current MOU between St. Paul’s and Concord police cites just the Safe Schools Act, which law enforcement officials and advocates say has “a glaring omission.” Under the Act, schools are not legally required to report misdemeanor-level sexual assault to police; the law only references felony-level sex crimes.”
New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald announced a criminal investigation into whether St. Paul’s Episcopal School endangered the welfare of a child and obstructed criminal investigations. The head of school, Michael Hirschfield, said he was “startled and saddened” by the announcement.
Good students never questioned authority because they knew their success depended on a strict compliance with and respect for an institution, which had graduated some of the most prominent financial and political leaders in the nation. The rules were clear to several former St. Paul’s students who were sexually assaulted during their time on campus, they said.
Police first learned about the relationship map in late September 2016 after receiving a call from a concerned parent who reported her 14-year-old daughter may have been sexually assaulted during the 2015-16 school year, records show. The girl’s mother said St. Paul’s Dean of Students Aaron Marsh told her about the school’s internal investigation into the map, which included her daughter’s name.
“Put simply but starkly, several former faculty and staff sexually abused children in their care in a variety of ways, from clear boundary violations to repeated sexual relationships to rape.” The tolerance by those who knew and the lack of awareness by most of the faculty and leadership “is all equally troubling.”
As many as 61 former St. George’s School students endured “a private hell” of systemic sexual abuse at the elite Episcopal prep school dating to the 1970s, said a report by independent investigator Martin F. Murphy.
St. Paul’s School marshaled its considerable resources to defend its reputation after a star pupil was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl on campus, and prominent parents chipped in $100,000 toward Owen Labrie’s criminal defense, according to new filings in the victim’s lawsuit against the school. – Boston Globe