The goal of the report was to create healing within a tightly knit private school community. The results, though, were far more devastating than they imagined. When St. Paul’s School in Concord, N.H, hired Boston law firm Casner & Edwards to look into allegations of sexual abuse in their history, what they didn’t know was just how deep the problem had been. The report was released on Tuesday, and the problems spanned 1967 to 2008 and included multiple victims and faculty members. According to the Boston Globe one of those faculty members was Gerry E. Studds, a former Massachusetts congressman.
The report details a variety of different kinds of sexual misconduct from inappropriate touching and comments to taking students on trips to visit prostitutes. Studds is accused of inappropriately touching a student after smoking marijuana with him. Another instructor, Richard A. Rein, would continually sexually harass students during the ballet practice he was responsible for. Teacher David A. Pook invaded students’ dorms on a regular basis to sit with them and talk about class, often when they had just returned from showering or were preparing for bed.
Some, however, are concerned the report doesn’t go far enough, as it doesn’t look at the culpability of the administration.
One Faculty Member Sentenced
One faculty member listed in the report has already faced a court for at least part of his crimes. Pook was recently convicted for conspiring with a past student to lie to a grand jury. Prosecutors allege he had a sexual relationship with a former student, then tried to sway her testimony to the grand jury. As part of a plea agreement , he was convicted on misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit false swearing and criminal contempt of court. All felony charges against him were dismissed. He will spend four months in the county jail.
Moving Forward
The school hopes that while the report is certainly devastating and hard to hear, the school will now be able to close that chapter and move forward.
Often the real results of sexual abuse aren’t addressed with a report like this. Instead, victims are the ones who have to suffer, sometimes for years to come. If you or someone you know has suffered at the hands of others because of sexual abuse, contact Paul today.