BishopAccountability.org

Editorial: Horror at St. George's

Providence Journal
January 10, 2016

http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20160110/opinion/160119949

View of St. Georges School, in Middletown, with the chapel.
Photo by SANDOR BODO

Evidence of serious crimes at St. George’s School, an elite private Episcopalian boarding school in Middletown, has come to light — after the school despicably left families, students and the public in the dark for decades. The full truth must come out, and school officials and advisers must accept full responsibility for their role.

Early last year, St. George’s began its own investigation into accusations of systematic sexual assault at the school during the 1970s and ’80s, a time when such matters were far more likely to be kept quiet. In a Dec. 23 report to alumni, Headmaster Eric Peterson and board chair Leslie Heaney apologized for sexual abuse by several former staff and students.

“The School underscores its regret, sorrow and shame that students in our care were hurt,” the two wrote in the 11-page report. “We commit ourselves to taking responsibility; to healing those wounds, and to making every effort to mend the fabric of the St. George’s community.”

Those are welcome words, but there are still grim questions to be answered.

The investigation, basing its finding on “credible first-hand accounts,” identified 26 victims of abuse by staff, 23 of them by three employees. Lawyers for the victims say the number is even higher — that more than 40 victims have come forward in the two weeks since the news came out. The school's former legal counsel — Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice William Robinson — was also involved in putting pressure on a teen who complained of wronging, one victim and her lawyer charged.

Among the serious questions that remain is why administrators, who fired three staff members allegedly involved, never reported the matter to state authorities, as required by Rhode Island law. The one perpetrator identified was former athletic trainer Al Gibbs, who was fired in 1980 and died in 1996.

The report says: “regrettably, the school did not report misconduct by Gibbs to any state agency at the time.” Regrettable, indeed, if not reprehensible, since this failure left victims suffering in silence, and the perpetrator free to go on his way.

St. George's has finally forwarded information about six former employees and three former students reported to have sexually assaulted students to the Rhode Island State Police, who have opened an investigation. Facing public pressure, the school has also agreed to hire an independent, third-party investigator to conduct "a comprehensive" examination of what took place. This is a crucial step if the school is to redeem itself. Those who committed crimes should be brought to justice. That may still be possible in four cases, since there was no statute of limitations on the crime of rape at the time the alleged assaults took place.

Victims’ lawyers contend that the prestigious school did much worse than keep silent — it attempted to “silence victims” to “prevent a scandal.” A lawyer and an alumna who said she was raped by Mr. Gibbs labeled the school's report “a sanitized version of the truth,” noting that St. George’s used a law partner of the school’s lawyer to investigate. Those who can shed light on what happened at the school -- including its response -- should cooperate fully with the well-respected State Police and other investigators to see that justice is done to the greatest possible extent.




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