Grand Jury Report Reveals: Elite private school allowed sex abuse for decades
On Wednesday February 1st, a grand jury report revealed that teachers and other faculty at an elite Bucks county school sexually abused students for more than fifty years. Surprisingly, that wasn’t what made the news instead the headlines belonged to the reluctant attitude of the school leadership towards the abuse. In spite of knowing well what was going on around campus, the school leadership failed to report the abuse to authorities. For over half a century, they ignored, tolerated, and covered up the sexual abuse that took place at their school.
The Bucks county school investigated for the abuse is Solebury School, a 7th through 12th grade school present close to New hope. After becoming aware of the abuse, the current administration of the school made changes to its policies but the jury suggested that these changes weren’t enough and the school had to do ‘more’. The investigation for the aforementioned abuse began in 2014 and involved the testimonies of former students. The alumni that testified included people who are currently aged between 27 and 77.
A woman now in her late 60s revealed that her school’s language teacher wanted to have sex with her and had rented a cottage for it. Additionally, a former male student of the school testified that he was raped by his teacher after he went off campus with the teacher and other students. According to the grand jury report, the abuse at the school occurred because the school didn’t have any student-faculty boundaries and the school’s administrators promoted a culture of concealment. Additionally, the grand jury report narrates how nine teachers or faculty sexually abused the students. The nine teachers or faculty named in the report were part of the school at different times between the 1950s and 2005. According to the report, the school leadership didn’t make any effort between the 1950s and 2005 to report the sexual abuse to child welfare officials or the police.
According to the investigators, many of the perpetrators were dead so they cannot be brought to court for the crime. To date, only one teacher had been prosecuted for the sexual abuse. In 1996, David Chadwick, a former teacher of Solebury school, was brought to court and charged with having sex with a girl who was studying in grade 10th at that time.
An elite school with a history of sexual abuse, Solebury has more than 200 students and over 70 teachers and faculty members. Additionally, the school charges more than $50,000 a year from each student. Holly Victor, the communications director of the school, revealed this information.
Sexual abuse, especially when the victim is a minor, is a serious offense punishable by law. There are many state and federal laws that look to discourage and prevent sexual abuse. If you’re a victim of sexual abuse or have been wrongly accused of it, get in touch with Heavens law firm to get the justice you deserve. Having more than twenty years of legal experience, heavens law firm is well equipped to deal with all sorts of sexual abuse in court.
