RHODE ISLAND
Boston Globe
By Bella English GLOBE STAFF JANUARY 12, 2016
Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger was named on Monday to oversee a new investigation of the embattled St. George’s School, which has been mired in a sex abuse scandal dating back to the 1970s. Harshbarger, 74, was appointed after a day-long meeting between representatives of the victims and the board of trustees of the Middletown, R.I., prep school.
The two sides also agreed that Day One of Rhode Island, a non-profit organization that provides help for victims of trauma, will provide assistance to victims of sex abuse at the school, which will pay for the services. The payments will be handled by an independent third-party administrator and the names of alumni receiving mental health assistance will not be released to the school, according to the statement.
Since December, accounts of sexual abuse at St. George’s have mushroomed, with more than 40 alumni saying they were abused at the school, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s. Both the school and the victims’ attorneys say there were at least nine staff or student perpetrators.
The Monday announcement was made by Leslie Heaney, chair of the school’s board of trustees, and Anne Scott, who spoke on behalf of SGS for Healing, a group of victims and other alumni. “These preliminary agreements represent further progress for alumni victims,” Scott said in a statement.
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