This discussion was created from comments split from: The Wait List.
Did everybody see the Choate sex scandal story? My friend said Boston Globe broke it.
I did see a sex abuse hotline on the alumnae page the other day and wondered about it.
Yeah I got an email about it today. At least all of the offenders have since left the school. I really appreciate Choate being transparent about it… the email completely owned up to it and even supplied documents with some victims’ testimonies. @libaya
I agree with @Nico.campbell --they proactively pursued it, starting last October. Very, very sad–but at least, unlike some of the other schools, these faculty are long gone and it happened well over 20+ years ago.
Not to say that we don’t talk openly about this with our kids. . . .
Actually, one of the faculty members (a popular teacher/coach) named in the report was there until June 2016. And some of the incidents happened in the early 2010’s. (Based on the info provided by Choate).
The note in italics that I saw on the bottom right hand corner of a webpage on choate.com said [ if you were a victim of abuse after 2004 please call …]. I can’t find it anymore.
@Nico.campbell my son didn’t get the email so I suppose you saw your parents’ email. I hope they have discussed with you that this is not something that can be easily explained by an email. We have decided to wait until he is home to talk to him about it.
I think I’m going to take a wait and see approach. It will be interesting to see how this unravels. It can have a great impact on what the student experience will be. I’m guessing that Alumni response will factor in like they did for the SPS scandal.
Plenty of schools have faced the same thing, not just Choate. The Boston Globe Spotlight team, the same team that uncovered the Catholic church abuse scandals, on which the Oscar winning movie Spotlight was based on, has been investigating prep schools for at least a year now. Many other schools mentioned here have already come forward about their history. Unfortunately for the victims, I doubt any school has been untouched in its history. It’s a sad reminder of our culture, history, human sexual perversions, and the tactics used by those who prey upon minors. 
Not only was that one faculty member still at Choate, but they allowed the teacher who raped a girl on study abroad to move on to five other schools including Litchfield high school without saying a word. They finally informed the school board a month ago. That is absolutely unacceptable.
It may have been a lie of omission which is still a lie. By not saying anything the school participated in covering it up. To me that’s morally wrong.
@applejuice007 --Yes. I just re-read the entire report. One was there until 2016, very sadly. Fortunately, my kids did not know him or have any contact (I’ve just asked).
The emotional and mental abuse afflicted by some deans/advisors/teachers is just as bad, especially if you’re not from a privileged and/or independent schol background. The ninth grade deans/advisors are extremely questionable, with no true authentic desire to help guide and nurture the incoming classes.
@southernprepfam - which school for 9th?
Well, that was ugly. The fact that they named the names the way they did–and some of those teachers had been there a wicked long time AND are still alive AND relatively local–shows that Choate was willing to go all-in on this stuff. That’s not nothin’. Many, many students and parents (plus all the people who worked with them over the years) know or knew these names and the teachers behind them, so this report is going to rock the (young, youngish, active, living) alumni community hard.
The online article even includes a drop down menu where you can choose a school and find what sex scandals it has! Crazy and sad all af once…
Just clarifying that Choate conducted the investigation, not the Boston Globe. And Choate released the story publicly by choice. It was not like an exposé done by the Boston Globe. They were just the first people to write a newspaper article on it.
Just horrible. And they let go certain teachers who just went on to other schools without the community, the parents, or law enforcement being alerted. That’s a crime, if you ask me.
In the rape incident, I don’t understand why the other students and the girl’s family kept quiet. What type of pressure or incentives did they receive in exchange?
@libaya What impact do you think the alumni had on the SPS scandal?
Reading the NYT article now about Choate. We had a scandal like this at our school & the impact is still having an on the community a couple years later. Even though the faculty is gone, it can still be an emotional dynamic at the school ( eg trust issues, perceived student safety, suspicion). Actually still does hang in the air - most saddened how the news of it (even thought the incidents occurred years ago) may influence the current students experience at the school – It also impacted the school’s development$. Parents & alumni held back $.
BTW, for us the news broke right after contracts & deposit were due…,some parents felt resentment about that. Did that happen with Choate also?