Sexual Abuse at St. George's School and the School's Response: 1970 to 2015
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Sexual Abuse at St. George’s School and the School’s Response: 1970 to 2015 REPORT OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR MARTIN F. MURPHY, FOLEY HOAG LLP September 1, 2016 REPORT OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR MARTIN F. MURPHY, FOLEY HOAG LLP TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................................ 3 Two St. George’s ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Faculty and Staff Abusers in the 1970s and 1980s: A Brief Summary ........................................................ 4 William Lydgate............................................................................................................................................. 4 Timothy Tefft ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Rev. Howard White........................................................................................................................................ 4 Alphonse “Al” Gibbs ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Franklin Coleman .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Susan Goddard ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Student-on-Student Sexual Abuse in the 1970s and 1980s ................................................................................. 5 How Did This Happen? ........................................................................................................................... 6 Sexual Abuse or Misconduct Since 1990 .................................................................................................. 7 The School’s Response to Alumni Who Reported Abuse ................................................................................. 8 The School’s 2015 Investigation .................................................................................................................... 10 Reports of Possible Sexual or Other Misconduct, 2000 to 2016 ....................................................................... 11 Charles Thompson ............................................................................................................................................................ 11 Robert Weston .................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Student-on-Student Assaults and Other Improper Conduct During Peterson’s Tenure ..................................... 15 The Investigation .................................................................................................................... 16 Independence ........................................................................................................................................ 16 Scope of the Investigation ...................................................................................................................... 16 Ground Rules and Confidentiality ......................................................................................................... 17 Our Terminology .................................................................................................................................. 17 Naming Names ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Contacting Victims ................................................................................................................................ 21 Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents, and its Effects ....................................................... 22 What the Literature Shows .................................................................................................................... 22 What St. George’s Alumni Told Us ....................................................................................................... 23 Sexual Abuse at St. George’s, 1970 to 1989: A Visual Depiction ............................................... 26 Faculty and Staff Abusers, Based on Multiple or Independently Corroborated Accounts ........... 27 William Lydgate ................................................................................................................................... 27 First-Hand Accounts from Former St. George’s Students Whom We Interviewed ........................................... 27 Witness 21, Class of 1972 .................................................................................................................................................. 28 Witness 66, Class of 1970 .................................................................................................................................................. 29 Witnesses Hannum Spoke to Who Did Not Call Us ...................................................................................... 29 i SEXUAL ASSAULT AT ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL AND THE SCHOOL’S RESPONSE: 1970 to 2015 REPORT OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR MARTIN F. MURPHY, FOLEY HOAG LLP Witness LA, Class of 1970 ................................................................................................................................................. 29 Witness LB, Class of 1971 ................................................................................................................................................. 29 Lydgate’s Departure from St. George’s .......................................................................................................... 30 St. George’s Knowledge ................................................................................................................................ 30 Sexual Abuse Lawsuit in Hawaii ................................................................................................................... 31 Lydgate’s Response to the Investigation ........................................................................................................ 31 Timothy Tefft ........................................................................................................................................ 31 First-Hand Accounts from Former St. George’s Students ............................................................................... 31 Witness 41, Class of 1973 .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Student TY, Class of 1972 ................................................................................................................................................ 32 Termination of Tefft ..................................................................................................................................... 32 After St. George’s ......................................................................................................................................... 33 Tefft’s Response to Investigation ................................................................................................................... 33 Reverend Howard White ....................................................................................................................... 33 Before St. George’s ....................................................................................................................................... 34 First-Hand Accounts from Former St. George’s Students ............................................................................... 35 Witness 20 (student, 1972–1974) ........................................................................................................................................ 35 Witness WA, Class of 1974 ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Witness WB, Class of 1976 ................................................................................................................................................ 36 Second-Hand Accounts from Former St. George’s Students ........................................................................... 36 Student WX, Mid-1970s .................................................................................................................................................... 36 The School’s Response ................................................................................................................................. 36 Notification of Authorities ............................................................................................................................ 41 After St. George’s ......................................................................................................................................... 42 White’s Response to the Investigation ........................................................................................................... 43 Alphonse “Al” Gibbs