Sex Crimes

Exclusive boarding schools rocked by sex scandals

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Part of the campus of the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy is seen Monday, April 11, 2016, in Exeter, N.H. Phillips Exeter Academy, which was founded in 1781, acknowledged in March 2016 that a teacher was forced into retirement in 2011 after admitting to two cases of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1970s and '80s. Some of the distinguished New England boarding schools that have long been training grounds for America's elite are facing a reckoning with alumni and students coming forward with complaints of sexual abuse at the hands of schoolmates and teachers. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) (The Associated Press)

Students walk on the campus of the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy Monday, April 11, 2016, in Exeter, N.H. Phillips Exeter Academy, which was founded in 1781, acknowledged in March 2016 that a teacher was forced into retirement in 2011 after admitting to two cases of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1970s and '80s. Some of the distinguished New England boarding schools that have long been training grounds for America's elite are facing a reckoning with alumni and students coming forward with complaints of sexual abuse at the hands of schoolmates and teachers. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, file photo, St. Paul's School student Owen Labrie looks around the courtroom during his trial in Merrimack County superior Court in Concord, N.H. Labrie, was convicted for taking part in a practice at the school known as "Senior Salute", where graduating students try to take advantage of younger classmates before the school year ends. Some of the distinguished New England boarding schools that have long been training grounds for America's elite are facing a reckoning with alumni and students coming forward with complaints of sexual abuse at the hands of schoolmates and teachers. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File) (The Associated Press)

A series of sexual abuse scandals is forcing a reckoning at some of New England's most exclusive boarding schools and sending a shudder through similar institutions around the country.

At St. George's School in Rhode Island, scores of alumni have come forward to complain of being sexually violated by teachers or schoolmates.

At St. Paul's in New Hampshire, a rape trial revealed a tradition in which senior boys competed to have sex with younger girls.

And at New Hampshire's Phillips Exeter Academy, several graduates have accused faculty members of sexual abuse and other wrongdoing.

Those schools and ones that have yet to be touched by scandal are now rushing to adopt safeguards and reassure parents. They are also asking former students and others to come forward if they know of any misconduct.