Post by Logan on Jan 21, 2016 10:51:54 GMT -6
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (AP) -- For more than a century, St. George's School has been part of the pedigree of some of America's richest and most influential families. Astors, Vanderbilts and Bushes have attended the exclusive boarding school, where students can go sailing, play on world-class squash courts or simply enjoy a sweeping view of the sea from the hilltop campus.
But since at least the 1970s, leaders at St. George's kept a secret.
Dozens of former students have come forward to say they were raped or molested by employees and schoolmates over the past four decades. St. George's acknowledged in a report it issued shortly before Christmas that it repeatedly failed to notify police and child welfare authorities as required by law.
The school's current leadership has characterized the abuse as a problem of the past and said it discovered the extent of the misconduct only recently. But many accusers have disputed that, and much of their anger has fallen on Eric Peterson, headmaster since 2004.
Continued at hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PREP_SCHOOL_ABUSE_RIOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-01-21-09-40-59 .
But since at least the 1970s, leaders at St. George's kept a secret.
Dozens of former students have come forward to say they were raped or molested by employees and schoolmates over the past four decades. St. George's acknowledged in a report it issued shortly before Christmas that it repeatedly failed to notify police and child welfare authorities as required by law.
The school's current leadership has characterized the abuse as a problem of the past and said it discovered the extent of the misconduct only recently. But many accusers have disputed that, and much of their anger has fallen on Eric Peterson, headmaster since 2004.
Continued at hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PREP_SCHOOL_ABUSE_RIOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-01-21-09-40-59 .