Arthur Peekel Offered Plea Deal in Sexual Assault Case
Former Academy admissions officer Arthur Peekel has been offered a plea deal by New Hampshire prosecutors after he was accused of sexually assaulting a prospective student almost 45 years ago. According to prosecutors, the offer was compulsory, as Peekel continues to maintain his innocence. His plea and sentencing hearing is set for May 12.
Peekel, now 75, was working as an Academy admissions officer in 1973 when he was accused of assaulting the then 14-year-old Lawrence Jenkens, ‘77, while he was visiting the Academy as a prospective student. According to Jenkins, Peekel invited him to stay the night in his apartment, where he was screening a movie for students. After Jenkens went to bed, Peekel allegedly molested him. While Jenkens immediately reported the assault to school officials, no police or legal authorities were contacted, and Peekel was allowed to finish the school year before being dismissed and quietly relocating. No record of the allegations were kept. Peekel then moved to Rolling Meadows, Illinois, where he continued his teaching career, and in 1991 was named Illinois Teacher of the Year.
If Peekel had remained in New Hampshire, the statute of limitations would have expired by the mid 1990s, and prosecutors would currently be unable to press charges. Peekel has been formally charged with two Class A misdemeanors, both of which are punishable by up to a year of jail time or a $12,000 fine. Peekel currently remains free after posting a $25,000 bail following his arrest.
Last May, when the Boston Globe Spotlight team uncovered a scourge of teacher-student sexual assault allegations in New England boarding schools—including Exeter—Jenkens spoke out about his own assault. The Academy first learned of the allegations through a Facebook post in late March of last year, when Jenkens recounted his assault and his disappointment with the Academy’s reaction to his allegations. Peekel was then arrested by the Exeter Police Department, but he posted the $25,000 bail. The Exeter Police Department opened a formal investigation on Peekel following Jenkens’ statements. Since then, Jenkens has spoken publicly on several occasions as a survivor and advocate of sexual assault prevention.
Jenkens spoke to The Exonian after originally levelling the allegations, further detailing his assault and expressing an urgent need for the institutional culture around teacher-student sexual assault to change. He also expressed hope that, by sharing his story as a survivor of sexual assault, he could catalyze Academy efforts to ensure victims of sexual assault are rightfully protected by the school.
The May 12 hearing will determine whether or not Peekel accepts his plea deal. If he continues to plead not guilty, the case may go to trial. “I do hope that Peekel will accept the plea offered on May 12,” Jenkens said. “In that case, I will be prepared to make a victim's statement to the court. If he doesn't accept the offer I am also ready to see this through any trial."
In his Facebook post, Jenkens spoke about the detrimental effects of Peekel’s assault on his life. “I left Exeter with you all in 1977 with an excellent education, for which I remain grateful, but I also left as an adolescent on the verge of manhood with no sense of self-worth or confidence,” he wrote. He also described the guilt he felt because he had not ensured that Peekel would be stopped from abusing other students. “I am still most tortured by the fact that I may have allowed him to do to someone else what he did to me,” Jenkens wrote.
In response to investigations that revealed multiple past cases of sexual assault at Exeter, the Academy has created new positions and programming to improve student wellbeing and prevent future incidents. Such efforts are outlined in the Academy’s official Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Action Plan. As detailed in the plan, the Academy believes that sexual misconduct can be prevented only by addressing campus sexual culture at its most fundamental roots. The introduction to the Academy’s response plan reads, “We believe that the most effective approach to prevention is holistic, is rooted in the community, and engages the full participation of every member of our school family.”
Past cases of sexual assault, however, are not unique to Phillips Exeter. More recently, Choate Rosemary Hall acknowledged cases of sexual molestation and rape committed by teachers dating as far back as the 1960’s. As with Peekel’s case, some of the teachers were allowed to resign and their actions went unreported, leading to more victims with stories like that of Lawrence Jenkens.