NEW JERSEY/VIRGINIA
NBC New York
By Dena Potter
Thursday, Jan 12, 2012
A Benedictine monk who headed a Virginia abbey was removed from his position over allegations of sexual misconduct while he was assigned to a prestigious New Jersey preparatory school.
The Rev. Luke Travers was replaced Wednesday after a letter was sent to church officials outlining sexual misconduct claims by two male former students at New Jersey’s Delbarton School, an elite prep school attended by Gov. Chris Christie’s son. Travers was headmaster at Delbarton School from 1999 through 2007, and he taught at the school before and after that time.
One alleged victim claims that Travers grabbed his crotch and butt and asked him inappropriate questions about his girlfriend in the 1980s, when he was about 14. According to the letter, another claims that Travers “crossed boundaries which betrayed the inherent trust which is sacred to his position as a teacher and a priest” while he was a student at Delbarton around 1990. The man says that he returned to Delbarton after graduating, where Travers offered him alcohol and kissed his neck and ears. When the man said he protested the affection, he said Travers told him there was “nothing wrong with what he was doing because he loved me.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.