Report on sexual abuse at St. George’s released
By Alana Cerrone
acerrone@abc6.com
@Alana_Cerrone
Decades of sexual abuse at a prestigious Rhode Island boarding school have been revealed in a shocking new report.
It comes just months after State Police and the Attorney General’s Office said no criminal charges will be filed in sexual abuse cases involving former and current faculty at St. George’s School in Middletown due to a statute of limitations.
But just released Thursday, an independent investigation almost 400 pages long detailing reports of sexual abuse from over 150 witnesses, most of them former students.
They said they were either abused or watched abuse happen by their own teachers and other staff
The victims told investigators they still struggle with PTSD, depression, and other issues.
The independent investigation focuses on 6 faculty members in particular, including athletic trainer Al Gibbs.
The report says at least one in five girls was sexually abused by him. Overall, he had at least 31 victims.
First hand accounts detail abuse by other faculty as well, including English teachers William Lydgate and Timothy Tefft; Reverend Howard White, who was a teacher, dorm parent, coach and associate chaplain; Franklin Coleman, a music director and dorm parent; and Susan Goddard, a part-time nurse.
On top of those six, nine other school employees were mentioned for sexually abusing at least 20 other students.
The types of abuse in the report range from sleeping in bed with students, to sexual misconduct, to rape.
In response to the findings released in the report, St. George’s Headmaster from 1972 to 1984, Tony Zane, released a statement saying:
"For twelve years I devoted all of my efforts to St. George’s and the welfare of our students. I believed that I was acting in the best interest of the school at every turn. I want everyone – my St. George’s friends, alumni, current students, and past and present Trustees – to know that I never tolerated any misconduct that I knew about. I acted quickly and threw Howdy White and Al Gibbs out of the school as soon as I found out what they did. My wife, Eusie, and I are deeply sorry to have learned that so many of our former students were put in harm’s way on my watch, and I personally apologize for the harms inflicted during my tenure as Headmaster at St. George’s.
Eusie and I have requested that St. George’s remove our name from the Zane Dormitory. We have always had the health and happiness of our students in our minds and in our hearts, but we feel that the school should take this action now in the hope that it will in some small way assist the healing process for the entire St. George’s community."
The investigator does clarify that in his findings, St. George’s leaders did take steps to protect students by firing school leaders after learning of the sexual abuse claims, but didn’t report all the allegations to law enforcement.
Last month, the school reached a settlement to give an undisclosed amount of money to settle the claims for up to 30 former students.
© WLNE-TV 2016
