Multiple allegations of sexual and physical abuse that took place from the 1950s to the 1980s at the country's oldest school for the deaf have been corroborated, school officials said in a report, according to NBC News.
The outside investigation into the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut, which was founded in 1817, revealed "startling and appalling truths," Executive Director Jeffrey Bravin and Catherine Burns, president of the board of directors, said in the report.
"As a school community, we offer a sincere and heartfelt apology to the survivors of the inexcusable actions identified in this report and for the fact that the school did not prevent or stop them," they said.
The probe, which started last February after officials learned of the allegations of abuse, included interviews with 81 former students, faculty and staff members and revealed 20 direct allegations of sexual abuse.
There also were 20 additional allegations from those who were aware of abuse that happened to others, as well as dozens of other cases of physical abuse and mistreatment.
Some of those accused in the report are dead, including Edmund Boatner, the school's executive director from 1935 to 1970, who allegedly groomed and had "sexual contact" with a student.
The school said all of the allegations have been passed on to the relevant authorities, according to the New York Daily News.
School officials also said the organization will carry out a mandated reported training to be completed on a yearly basis, Fox61 reported.
In addition, more security cameras have been placed on the premises, and the school also intends to introduce a software in which students can report incidents anonymously.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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