Sexual
abuse was so rampant that it created a “private hell” for some students
at an elite prep school in Rhode Island in the 1970s and ’80s,
investigators reported on Thursday, describing an atmosphere of terror
in which at least 61 students were victimized and some staff members
committed assaults for years before being forced out.
The investigation found that at least 51 students were abused by employees of St. George’s School,
a prestigious private boarding and day school near Newport, and at
least 10 others by fellow students — and that the true numbers are
probably significantly higher. The inquiry came after years of pressure
from victims who said that St. George’s had refused to squarely
acknowledge the extent of the problems.