Tbe Boston Globe’s Spotlight Article Reports on Past Sexual Misconduct Cases at the Academy

The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team published an investigative piece titled “Private schools, painful secrets” on May 6, highlighting sexual abuse at many New England boarding schools. The piece disclosed new allegations against former Exeter admissions officer Arthur Peekel and mentioned the sexual misconduct cases of former history instructor Richard Schubart and former art instructor Steve Lewis.

The piece highlighted the prevalence of teacher-student sexual abuse cases in New England boarding schools and attempted to accurately depict the culture of prep schools.

“We are deeply indebted to the survivors who have stepped forward, and we hope their courage will embolden others to do the same.”

The Spotlight team found that “[a]t least 67 private schools in New England have faced accusations since 1991 that staffers sexually abused or harassed more than 200 students,” and that “at least 37 school employees were fired or forced to resign because of the allegations,” at these institutions. As part of the piece, The Boston Globe created a database of sexual misconduct cases at these schools in New England, a record which has never existed or been extensively documented.

The article alleged that Peekel sexually assaulted Lawrence Jenkens ’77 when Jenkens visited Exeter for an overnight stay in the fall of 1973. Peekel took a leave of absence in December 1973 and later resigned from the Academy and moved out of state, going on to work at Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, Ill.

According to a letter written by Principal Lisa MacFarlane posted online, the Academy discovered Jenkens’ allegations against Peekel through Jenkens’ Facebook post on March 31, 2016 and immediately passed the information to the Exeter Police. The Exeter police are currently have an active and open investigation into said allegations and the Academy has hired an investigator. Peekel denied any allegation of wrongdoing to The Boston Globe.

According to The Boston Globe, Peekel instructed Jenkens during his overnight stay to sleep in his bedroom on a small cot set up adjacent to Peekel’s own bed. After closing the lights, Peekel allegedly sexually assaulted Jenkens.

Jenkens spoke to The Exonian and further detailed his allegations against Peekel. Soon after the incident, Jenkens met with Principal Emeritus, Richard Day and several other school officials and detailed his account of the assault.

“We had a long conversation that was literally about what had happened. It was very specific, very detailed, very explicit conversation about what had happened,” Jenkens said.

Peekel resigned from his position at the end of the 1973-1974 school year. According to Jenkens, the Academy never contacted law enforcement and has no further records of Jenkens’ alleged assault.

Jenkens said the assault deeply affected him and his life.

“[Sexual assault] really seems to, in all cases, undermine your self-esteem and sense of confidence and undermine your normal maturation process. It sort of skews everything. It takes time to rebuild and repair,” he said.

Jenkens said that he is still working towards coming to terms with the abuse he suffered. More than 40 years later, Jenkens said that he is “still processing the event.”

Jenkens was compelled to tell his story following the publication of an investigative piece by The Boston Globe detailing sexual misconduct at the hands of Schubart. “When I read the letter from Principal MacFarlane and The Boston Globe article report, what struck me most was that I couldn’t depend on someone else to tell her story; I also need to tell my story,” he said.

Jenkens added that sharing stories of abuse can prompt positive changes in the culture of an institution. “I think it’s important that when one feels one can, then one tells one’s story because it’s the way institutional culture will change. It isn’t just one story that will change it; it’s lots of stories. What I really hope is that the whole culture around abuse and the way that institutions respond will change in a positive way,” he said.

Jenkens said that publicizing personal narratives of sexual assault can prevent further cases.

“I think that a more open accounting of these things when they happen might prevent it from happening in the future. I don’t think you’re ever going to stop every case of abuse. But when it happens and people know they can’t get away with it or that they won’t be in some way publicly exposed or punished that we might prevent it from happening,” he said.

Peekel did not respond to The Exonian’s attempts to contact him.

In light of The Boston Globe’s article, MacFarlane said that the Academy’s priority remains unchanged: creating and maintaining a safe space for all students. “There is no greater priority for Phillips Exeter Academy than to ensure a safe environment for our students, free of sexual abuse and harassment in all its forms,” MacFarlane said in a letter to the Academy community.

In addition, she expressed gratitude towards the survivors of sexual assault who have come forward with their stories. “We are deeply indebted to the survivors who have stepped forward, and we hope their courage will embolden others to do the same,” MacFarlane said.

Students reacted to the piece as well. Upper Ali Hassani said that the instances of sexual misconduct at the Academy were unsurprising. “Exeter is several centuries old—sexual misconduct is so pervasive in society as a whole that it should come as no surprise that those in the Exeter community have engaged in it at several points in time, both as victims and perpetrators,” he said.

Lower Menat Bahnasy said she was grateful that the cases have been brought to light, for they bring a “new kind of a awareness to everyone in our community.”

“It’s important to recognize that the publicity New England private schools get when these accusations are made may make it easier for other victims of the same institution to speak up. It’s more important, however, to realize that there are schools not nearly as well known as ours, which may in turn not give victims the comfort and confidence to speak up,” Bahnasy said.

“The issue is not solved by recognizing it only in popular New England private schools,” she continued. “It’s a start, but we need to look in between the lines, and pay more attention to other institutions that may not have the same reputation as Exeter.”