DEERFIELD (MA)
Greenfield Recorder [Greenfield MA]
June 3, 2025
By Chris Larabee
DEERFIELD — Deerfield Academy has reached a “low six-figure settlement” with another sexual abuse victim of longtime teacher Peter G. Hindle.
The settlement was announced outside the school Tuesday morning by Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston-based attorney representing victims of sexual abuse, after the 63-year-old victim finally came forward in 2024 while meeting with his primary care physician. Hindle taught at Deerfield Academy for more than 40 years and died in 2017.
Hindle, who Garabedian described as a “serial pedophile,” allegedly sexually abused the victim approximately 15 times between 1977 and 1979, when the victim was 15 to 17 years old. Garabedian said Hindle endeared himself to the victim by connecting with him through the school’s soccer team, before the teacher allegedly lured him to the residence and began engaging in sexual abuse.
“The victim is 63 years old, he revealed for the first time in his life that he was sexually abused by Peter G. Hindle,” Garabedian said, adding the victim now lives in “Middle America.” “The dam broke open, the victim went home and told his wife for the first time and the victim is now trying to heal after all these decades of holding the sexual abuse in and not telling anyone because of unnecessary shame and guilt and embarrassment.”
Deerfield Academy Director of Communications Jessica Day confirmed the settlement and reaffirmed the school’s commitment to protecting students. The school has added stringent policies over the last decade, including overlapping safeguards, regular review of polices, trainings and protocols for reporting boundary violations.
The school has settled several other claims of sexual abuse against Hindle, including one in 2023. Additionally, the school settled another sexual abuse claim in 2023 against Athletics Department member Norman Therien, who worked at the school for more than 40 years before he was fired after an investigation by the academy.
Robert Hoatson, co-founder and president of the New Jersey-based nonprofit Road to Recovery, which assists sexual abuse survivors, hosted Tuesday’s press conference on the sidewalk outside Deerfield Academy’s campus, while Garabedian spoke via Zoom.
Hoatson said he expects more victims will likely come forward in the future, as victims see news media coverage and often feel empowered to finally reveal their abuse.
“We’re still going to get more victims of Peter G. Hindle and others,” Hoatson said. “And it’s well worth it because now this young man can begin to heal.”
“The victim was a young, naive student thrilled to be at Deerfield Academy and Peter Hindle took advantage of an innocent child,” Garabedian said. “The victim has shown an enormous amount of courage and reporting the sexual abuse … the courageous victim wants the world to know that children have to be protected from predators and the way to do that is by proper supervision.”
Hoatson noted he would like to see institutions like Deerfield Academy or other schools do more to assist victims when their claims are deemed credible, but a settlement is a good place to start.
“They should be doing everything they have to do to help this man heal,” he said. “The fact that they’re putting their names on a check is great because that’s usually the only way that institution is held accountable.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.