Kaminski Case Revisited

In August of 2020, former Mathematics Instructor Szczesny Kaminski was charged with three counts of Class A felonious pattern aggravated sexual assault and three counts of Class A misdemeanor sexual assault against a former student. An affidavit prepared by Exeter Police Department (EPD) Deputy Chief Michael P. Munck reveals further specifics on Academy responses to reports filed against Kaminski. 

The first recorded meeting between Kaminski and a dean over boundary concerns occurred in the fall of 2015, when the Dean’s Office was notified of Kaminski visiting the student’s dormitory at odd hours. Reports of Kaminski’s presence in the student’s dormitory continued, and two anonymous deans met with Kaminski in April 2016. During this meeting, Kaminski was warned not to be alone with the student and not to drive them anywhere. 

“The Academy learned earlier this year of breaches and failures by Mr. Kaminski to abide by Academy instructions,” Principal Bill Rawson said, “and on that basis terminated Mr. Kaminski on April 7, 2020.” In April 2016, the Academy received reports of “boundary issues” between Kaminski and the anonymous student. Afterwards, two Academy deans met with Kaminski and Kaminski was told “not to be alone with [the anonymous student] and not to drive [them] anywhere.” On May 9, 2016, the Director of Security at PEA reported to the Academy that Kaminski was seen driving alone with the student, a breach of earlier Academy instructions. An Academy dean “made contact via email” with Kaminski after this instance; Kaminski was not terminated. 

Seven days later, on May 16, 2016, Exeter Director of Security Paul Gravel called EPD Detective Patrick Mulholland and reported the initial boundary concerns between the student and Kaminski in 2015, Academy instructions against driving and being alone with the student in April and Kaminski’s subsequent breach of Academy instructions in May. Mulholland noted that the situation, “becomes more concerning after having been warned by one’s employer not to do certain things and Kaminski apparently ignored those requests.”

After the anonymous student’s parents declined further investigation, all investigations into possible criminal activity ceased.

After the summer of 2016, the then-Dean of Faculty contacted Kaminski again regarding the incident where the student walked to Kaminski’s apartment and was driven back. The letter, sent to Kaminski in September 2016, placed him on written notice that “certain actions would result in his termination.”

Citing that the September 2016 letter was a personnel file and therefore confidential, Rawson was unable to provide the letter or specifics of the “certain actions” entailed. 

The letter seemingly did not apply to courses. Kaminski created a 999 course in fall of 2016, where he expressly advocated for the anonymous student to attend. The 999 was permitted to be held in winter 2016-2017 under the requirement that the anonymous student was not the only one enrolled. The dean who set this requirement reported that Kaminski went to the then-Principal and then-Department Chair to advocate for the 999, but neither recalled that act occurring.

Kaminski was terminated in April of 2020. 

According to Rawson, the Academy is not aware of any investigations regarding Kaminski’s conduct towards other students.

The Exonian reached out to administrators and officials to better understand the Academy’s response to Kaminiski’s boundary violations. Every contact reached out to past and present declined to comment.

In regards to supporting students who may be impacted by the case, Rawson recommends Exeter’s Counseling and Psychological Services for current students. Graduated students are able to request financial assistance for counseling or other services, and support from the Director of Student Well-Being Christina Palmer in scheduling the service.

On September 9, Phillips Exeter Alumni for Truth and Healing (PATH) sent a letter to Rawson and Morgan Sze, chair of the Board of Trustees, in response to the Academy’s sexual misconduct case. The letter requested four actions from The Academy. Rawson responded to the letter 16 days later, appreciating PATH’s work but disagreeing with the four actions. 

The first requested action was for the commission of a “truly independent and complete” investigation of past sexual misconduct cases at Exeter with a law firm agreed upon by PATH. The original investigation into the Academy’s past sexual misconduct was conducted by Holland & Knight in April of 2016. On account of Holland & Knight’s investigators having access to all requested materials and witnesses, Rawson declined the request for another investigation. “The investigation was independent,” he said. 

PATH secondly requested the replacement of deans who failed to make mandatory reports and properly support survivors. Rawson cited an ad hoc committee the Academy established, which “did not find that additional public consequences were warranted,” in rejecting the request.

In response to PATH’s third request of appointing survivors to the Board of Trustees, Rawson mentioned the likelihood of survivors being already trustees but did not definitely mention that survivors are currently on the board. “We do not believe it is necessary to appoint specifically designated survivor representatives as trustees to fulfill these commitments,” he said.

The Academy currently relies on statutes of limitation when mediating with survivors, according to PATH. Statutes of limitation impose a time constraint, often a number of years after the incident, for filing a compensation request after a sexual assault case. PATH’s letter states that the statutes “have been eliminated by the State of New Hampshire on a going-forward basis,” and their fourth request called for an elimination of reliance on the statutes. The Academy reaffirmed their use of statutes of limitations, writing that they “have and will continue to mediate claims that we consider time-barred” but reserve the right of legal defenses if a case goes to court.

Reflecting on the case, Rawson reiterated his dedication to protecting students and supporting harmed alumni. “...At no point during my tenure as principal will the school take action designed to protect the school at the expense of victims, survivors, or anyone else, even the accused.”