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VIDEO: St. George’s Sexual Assault Survivors Call For Independent Investigation
By Kate Nagle
[with video] On Tuesday, at a press conference in Boston, three St. George’s School alumni and their attorneys called for an independent investigation into sexual abuse at the preparatory school Middletown, Rhode Island. GoLocal reported Tuesday that the Rhode Island State Police investigation into St. George's is expanding, with the number of victims coming forth continuing to grow. In an interview with one of the lawyers for the survivors -- Carmen Durso - GoLocal received updated information on Tuesday. Durso on Record "The experience with situations like this where there a number of survivors -- you only get a small percent of those who got abused to come forward," said Durso. "When you have an unusual situation like this with so many coming forward and 700 plus publicly supporting them, that gets more people. I expect more to come forward. As for those going public, it's up to each individual person. There are numbers of people who are able to tell someone but coming forward publicly is not something they can do." "Regarding the criminal investigation, it is my understanding there is no statute of limitations of rape in Rhode Island. It's technical though -- not everyone who was sexually assaulted was raped," said Durso. "Therefore the elimination of the statute of limitations isn't going to apply to everyone. There are some of the victims who said who said there are raped, and the RSIP have indicated they are pursuing these claims." "As for whether civil claims will be filed, I can't say whether or not that will happen," addied Durso. "The primary focus is to get the school to respond appropriately to the problems they are having. Addressing Issues "There are two pressing problems -- the immediate problem of people in need of psychiatric help and lack the resources to get the help. The number one issue is taking care of that," said Durso. "Then there are people whose lives have been affected -- alcoholism, loss of relationships, educational opportunities and so forth -- and we have to address that separately" "First things first -- we need to get the school to acknowledge there's a problem and deal with the problem . They have to stop telling victims what they "have to do" -- sexual assault is far more about control than sex. One of the first things anyone who was sexually assaulted has to do, it's that they need to reassert control. The school has blown it in that response," said Durso. "They're saying 'we'll help you" if you do certain things -- like confidentiality agreements, not to disparage the school." "They want to set up a survivor support group, but the survivors have no say of how that will be structured," said Durso. "There's a great deal of resentment and pushback. If there's a group -- they need to have a role in fashioning it. The best way I can describe is [St. George's] is tone deaf -- they have not listened, or responded in the way that victims want to hear." St. George's Responds The school provided the following statement on Tuesday. St. George’s School deeply apologizes for the harm done to alumni by former employees and former students of the school. We also apologize that the way in which the school addressed these incidents has served to compound this harm. We recognize the long-lasting impact of sexual abuse and are dedicated to working with survivors to aid them in healing from its painful aftermath. To that end, the School has authorized reimbursement for counseling for survivors. There is no set limit on the number of counseling sessions available to survivors, and reimbursement will be made on a renewable basis. We also commissioned a third party investigation to learn about any and every instance of sexual abuse. Over the course of eight months, more than 100 individuals were interviewed. We have made a public report on this investigation but the work remains ongoing. We welcome the opportunity to hear from anyone who has additional information to share. We are also cooperating with law enforcement and state child protection agencies. St. George's School is committed to establishing and adhering to best practices and policies to ensure a safe and productive learning environment for all of its students. All employees undergo criminal background checks, reference checks, and careful screening throughout the hiring process. In recent years, the School has required all employees to participate in training on boundary issues and mandatory reporting requirements, and students have been engaged in a series of conversations concerning sexual assault. Finally, the policy manuals for faculty, staff and students undergo regular comprehensive reviews to update and enhance our policies and language related to sexual abuse prevention and reporting.
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