BishopAccountability.org

St. George's Switches To New Investigator

By Elisabeth Harrison
Rhode Island Public Radio
January 20, 2016

http://ripr.org/post/st-georges-switches-new-investigator

St. George's School and a group of former students who have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse have announced that Scott Harshbarger will no longer conduct the independent investigation into the school's history.

In a joint statement, the school and the former students say they were unable to come to an agreement with Harshbarger and his firm Casner & Edwards over the terms of engagement.

Instead, the two parties have named a new investigator, Martin F. Murphy, of the Boston law firm Foley Hoag.

Eric MacLeish, an attorney representing some of the former students, tells The Providence Journal that former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will assist in the investigation, although a spokesman for the school's board said he could not confirm that.

The school previously retained the attorney Will Hannum, whose investigation found credible reports of sexual abuse from 26 former students, involving six former school employees. The report also detailed reports of sexual abuse by several former students.

But some former students objected to the selection of Hannum as the investigator, pointing out that he is the husband and law partner of the school's attorney, Sara Schwartz. The former students questioned his ability to conduct a truly independent investigation into their allegations.

 




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