Former Admissions Officer Sues PEA for Discrimination

A former employee of Phillips Exeter Academy is suing the school on the counts of sexual orientation discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination.

The Academy put Hal Lynch III, a former associate director of Admissions, director of Fisher Theater and openly gay member of the administrative faculty, on paid administrative leave in November 2016. His employment was terminated in March 2017.

Lynch filed a lawsuit against the Academy in Rockingham County Superior Court in September 2018, one month after the Academy released summaries of investigations into instances of sexual misconduct that include the 1992 case of Lynch’s former romantic partner, former Drama Director Lane Bateman.

Exeter’s General Counsel Holly Barcroft maintained that Lynch’s lawsuit was “without merit.” “The Academy has a longstanding policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In March 2017, Mr. Lynch’s employment was terminated for valid, non-discriminatory reasons having nothing to do with his sexual orientation,” she said. “The Academy will vigorously defend against this action.” She added that there were no sexual misconduct allegations against Lynch.According to Lynch’s complaint, his termination was a result of investigations by PEA into a 2016 report made to PEA by the student with whom Bateman had a sexual relationship. The student alleged that Lynch—who was also in a romantic relationship with Bateman—knew of the student and Bateman’s relationship and failed to act, according to the New Hampshire State Police Continuation of Investigation Report. In his suit, Lynch claims that he had no knowledge of Bateman’s involvement in criminal activities, including his involvement with the student, prior to Bateman’s arrest in 1992.

Interim Principal William Rawson said the school is committed to addressing the campus’ history of malfeasance. “I do not foresee the lawsuit having any impact on our efforts to address issues of past sexual misconduct,” Rawson said. “We are committed to doing all we can to create and maintain a teaching and learning environment free of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in any form.”

The alleged basis for termination, according to Lynch’s lawsuit, was that Lynch “turned a blind eye” to Bateman’s conduct and failed to report information about Bateman’s relationship with the student to the police or the Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). Lynch denied in his lawsuit that he had any knowledge of Bateman’s relationship with the student until Bateman’s criminal prosecution, when the student provided information on their relationship.

Both before and after his dismissal, Lynch requested information from PEA regarding the factors that resulted in his termination, according to the lawsuit. Several times, the Academy refused to disclose any specifics.

Lynch and his attorney could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

Bateman was indicted in 1992 on federal child pornography charges after police raided his home and found 30 hours of videos, along with photographs and picture books, featuring minors.

According to Lynch’s lawsuit, he believed he had been in a “monogamous and committed relationship” with Bateman, and paid $10,000 to bail out the former theater department chair when he was initially arraigned. Bateman was ultimately sentenced to five years in jail and found guilty of child-pornography possession and two counts of interstate transportation, according to the original coverage by The New York Times. He died in 2013.

Information resurfaced in the wake of Exeter’s 2016 investigation into faculty-on-student misconduct, which confirmed that Bateman had sexual interactions with a former male student at the school. According to the New Hampshire State Police Continuation of Investigation Report, the former student filed a civil lawsuit against PEA. Further information in this document states that the victim allegedly had a sexual relationship from 1981-85 with Bateman that Lynch and a retired dean knew of and failed to report to PEA Security, DCYF (Division of Children, Youth and Families) and/or the law enforcement.

Exeter Police Department Officer Joseph Saluto said he interviewed the student in 2016 after receiving a tip by the student’s friend, forwarded by PEA. Though he refused to comment on the investigation involving a minor, Saluto said that the investigation “took a couple of days,” after which Saluto closed the case because Bateman, the perpetrator, was deceased. “We did not make any reports to the school about the results of the investigation,” Saluto said.

The administration’s failure to report  concerned Saluto. “By the very fact that an adult is employed by the Academy, they would be considered responsible of criminal conduct if they hypothetically fail to report criminal behavior against juveniles,” Saluto said, citing chapter RSA 169-C of New Hampshire’s Child Protection Act. “The Academy thinks it has the right to determine whether or not to report, but that is not true,” Saluto said.

Saluto refused to reveal, however, whether there were further investigations by the EPD since 2016 into Lynch’s alleged failure to report. Neither Lynch nor any of the other faculty members alleged to have known about the illicit relationship have been arrested.

John Sherman, Lynch’s lawyer, claimed in Lynch’s suit that the retired dean and another faculty member who found a student naked in Bateman’s bed were neither investigated nor disciplined by PEA in the 30 years following the incident. Lynch’s lawsuit noted that both individuals are heterosexual.

Assistant Principal Karen Lassey said the Academy became aware of the claim about the retired dean in 2016 and investigated what he knew. “We did not find sufficient evidence that he had any knowledge of sexual misconduct,” she said.

The retired dean could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

It remains unclear when the Academy knew of Bateman and the student’s relationship, or when the Academy knew that Lynch, and the dean in question, could have failed to report.

Fact 39 of Lynch’s lawsuit states, “Upon information and belief, prior to Bateman’s criminal trial, PEA had information about Bateman’s relationship with the male student.” Facts 30 to 36 state that during the criminal prosecution, the male student “provided information…regarding his intimate relationship with Bateman while he was at PEA.” Also according to this document, the prosecution and PEA “interrogated Lynch about what he knew” in 1992, and Lynch was not charged with any crimes.

An Exonian article published on Jan. 19, 1993 stated that then-Principal Kendra Stearns O’Donnell informed the student body in an assembly that “Mr. Bateman did have sexual relations with a student of the Academy at some point in the 1980s.”

The Nixon Peabody LLP investigation review reports that the school received allegations of Bateman’s relationship with the student in 2016, when it promptly investigated the claims.

The EPD’s Report #16-238-OF states that in 2016, the victim “alleged several PEA faculty members knew of the relationship and did nothing.” The report proceeded to name Lynch and the retired dean. Before this 2016 report, there were no reports made directly to EPD; the 1992-93 investigations were conducted by the federal police.

Former Religion Instructor and Drama Sports Coach (1991-93) Carl Lindemann was troubled by the inconsistency with the police and Academy reports. “If Nixon-Peabody’s report proves to be factually inaccurate, I hope everyone can agree that we all deserve a fuller understanding of PEA’s sexual misconduct investigation,” he said.

Lindemann also questioned whether or not faculty members’ identities factored into the school’s disciplinary response. Lindemann said about Lynch’s suit, “I am troubled by the fact that, it would seem, that the only faculty or administration member singled out in the wake of the investigations were Rev. [Robert] Thompson and Mr. Lynch—an African-American and a gay man,” Lindemann said. “I find it hard to believe that Exeter could engage in blatant racism and homophobia. That being said, I look forward to PEA’s response to the suit—it raises questions that require clear, definitive answers.”

Also in his words, “it was no secret among the faculty and administration that Bateman had sex with a student.”

Alumna Antigone Clark ’17 recalled her strong relationship with Lynch and the various ways in which he supported her throughout her Exeter experience. “I loved Mr. Lynch so much. I gave tours all the time, so I was always in the admissions building. Whenever his door was open…I would stop in and update him about my life and the other Las Vegas kids.” Clark said. “I want to believe that he would not knowingly let sexual abuse occur on campus, but you never really know.”