Three Decades of Sex Abuse at Elite Rhode Island Prep-School

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Three Decades of Sex Abuse at Elite Rhode Island Prep-School

February 1st, 2016

Awake Goy

St. George Prepatory School in Middletown, R.I.

Recently numerous cases of sexual molestation and rape have been reported to have occurred at the St. George Preparatory School in Middletown, Rhode Island, during the period of 1974 through 2004. St. George is an elite co-ed Episcopal boarding and day school serving ninth through twelfth grade students. Lawyers for alleged victims have indicated that at least 40 former students of the school have made credible claims of sexual abuse.

Horace Mann, another prestigious prep school, located in the Bronx of New York City, has also been seared with scandal in recent years—the Mann scandal first surfaced in 2012. The advocacy group Mann Action Coalition forced a thorough investigation of the alleged abuses. And, as reported in the New York Daily News, 5/27/15, an investigation conducted by Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder has revealed that as many as 64 students at the upscale Bronx prep school were sexually abused between 1962 and 20011, and that as many as 22 faculty and staff members were indicated as abusers.

In the Rhode Island scandal, several days ago, the New York Times reported that one of the victims, a 1982 graduate, said that he was raped by another student in front of other students. He, along with other alleged victims, is demanding that the headmaster, Eric Peterson, resign. However, Mr. Peterson has indicated that he will not resign and that he supports a thorough investigation of the scandalous sexual abuse allegations.

As of now, PBS has no knowledge of any criminal charges having been filed arising from either the Horace Mann or St. George scandal.