Independent Investigation Finds No Improper Behavior at Portsmouth Abbey By Abbot

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

GoLocalProv News Team

An investigation conducted by the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton found that there was no improper of illegal actions tied to the sudden resignation of Abbot Caedmon last spring. The Abbot was the highest ranking religious leader at Portsmouth Abbey, the Rhode Island-based prep school.

Just miles away, St. George's School had been crushed by allegations of sexual misconduct that lasted for decades at the school. Recently, the school agreed to make payments to more than 30 victims of sexual abuse. The payments are believed to be in the tens of millions.

READ THE LETTER BELOW

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Dear Portsmouth Abbey Community,

As you recall, we wrote to you in May with news of Abbot Caedmon's resignation. We had no indication that the personal struggle leading to the Abbot's departure had affected students, but the Board of Regents thought it best to retain an experienced, independent lawyer and law firm - Mary Beth Hogan of Debevoise & Plimpton - to review the matter. We encouraged anyone with relevant information or concerns about student safety to call the law firm. We wish now to update you on the results of that work.

The firm's investigation has confirmed that Abbot Caedmon's personal struggle did not involve other people or illegal behavior. Given our respect for Abbot Caedmon's long service, and his right to privacy, we will keep him in our prayers and not comment any further on his departure.

Apart from the work that initially led us to retain Debevoise, we asked the firm - in light of the justified criticism that schools have come under for mishandling or covering up the separate issue of student sexual abuse - to also report any incidents of sexual abuse or misconduct it learned about in the course of its investigation.

The firm examined and reported on three past incidents, which were known to past or present school administrators. The first, as some of you are already aware, was an incident we disclosed last year to students, parents, and faculty, involving an inappropriate relationship between a faculty member and a student. The matter was reported at the time to law enforcement, and the teacher was suspended, quickly resigned, and excluded from campus. No new information on this incident was revealed in the course of this review.

Debevoise also reviewed two previous incidents involving the sexual abuse of a minor by an adult, both of which occurred over 40 years ago. These matters were not reported to the School until decades later. In the first case, Portsmouth Abbey School extended aid to the victim, and the violator was removed from the School and prevented from further contact with children. The second incident involved a report of sexual abuse that had allegedly occurred in 1960 or 1961. The alleged perpetrator was deceased, and the allegation could not be confirmed or disproven.

In deference to the privacy interests of the two victims, we are not providing further details of these incidents, which were resolved in accordance with the victims' wishes many years ago. Were a similar incident to come to light today, we would promptly report it to law enforcement as we did last year, both as a matter of policy and in accordance with the current law.

The only other incident that Debevoise reported on involved an allegation of verbal, rather than physical, sexual abuse. Specifically, a Portsmouth alumnus reported credibly to Debevoise that a former faculty member had made an inappropriate sexual comment to him in the early 1980s, while he was a student. No complaint was made to School administrators or teachers at the time and the teacher in question is no longer at the School or working.

As you can imagine, any incident of sexual abuse or misconduct involving a student is of grave concern to the School, its Board, and the Monastery. We hold reverence for God and the human person as the primary tenet of our mission. If you have such a concern, we urge you to bring it to us. You have our commitment that we will address it appropriately, forthrightly, and compassionately.

Moving forward, we will continue to respond to behaviors that are inconsistent with our Catholic Benedictine mission to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace. We continue to review and revise our policies and training each year to try to prevent these difficult issues from ever occurring again.

Finally, many of you have expressed concern about the future of the Monastery. Upon Abbot Caedmon's departure, Abbot Matthew was appointed by the Abbot President as superior of the Monastery. The Monastery has also asked the English Benedictine Congregation for assistance. As part of this process, the Abbot President will appoint, with the Monastery's permission, a temporary religious superior for a period of two years. The Monastery's formal request for assistance reinforces their continued commitment to the long-term future of both itself and the School. The Monastery always prays for all of us, and we ask that you pray for them too.

Yours in Christ and St. Benedict,

Right Rev. Dom Matthew Stark, O.S.B.

Abbot and Chancellor

W. Christopher Behnke, '81

Chair, Board of Regents

Daniel McDonough

Headmaster

Independent Investigation Finds No Improper Behavior at Portsmouth Abbey By Abbot

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