Healing service canceled at St. George's School alumni weekend

By Linda Borg
Providence Journal
May 07, 2016

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160507/healing-service-canceled-at-st-georges-school-alumni-weekend

St. George's School in Middletown welcomed about 200 alumni for its annual reunion weekend as investigations continue into allegations of past sexual abuse.

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — As part of its alumni weekend, St. George's School lit a candle and offered a few minutes of silence amid widespread allegations of sexual abuse at the private Episcopal boarding school.

Headmaster Eric Peterson had planned to hold a healing event during the reunion but it was canceled after survivors threatened to picket. Survivors contended that it was too soon to hold a healing ceremony, especially one led by Peterson, who they say failed to report several cases of abuse.

One of the survivors, Katie Wales Lovkay, Class of 1980, said she attended last year's reunion, where she met with Peterson to discuss what had happened to her as a student. She said that the school's former athletic trainer had taken nude pictures of her and then showed them to male classmates.

"Peterson led me to believe that he didn't know anything," she said by phone on Saturday. "He had tears in his eyes. Months later, I found out he lied to my face. I really believed he would do something."

A statement from the school released on Saturday said, "Today's event included information about the school's current safety and support procedures in place to address possible sexual misconduct. ... In the update, Leslie Heaney, chair of the board of trustees, explained that neither the survivors nor the board, who jointly selected the [independent] investigator, have received any report details as yet."

Heaney said that once the report is released, the school will "work fully to understand the facts, consider all possible steps, acknowledge all wrongs and failings and make decisions."

"St. George's is committed to continuing the conversation with survivors about what we can do to both support them in their healing and ensure that we are doing all we can to keep our current students safe and healthy," the statement said.

About 200 alumni visited the campus over the weekend, which featured cocktails, squash, class visits and a campus tour. The news media was barred from campus.

The Rhode Island State Police are investigating allegations that six former employees, including a former assistant chaplain, the Rev. Howard W. White Jr., were involved in sexually abusing dozens of students, primarily during the 1970s and 1980s. St. George's has publicly apologized for sexual abuse by several former staff and students. Administrators at the time fired three staff members but never reported the incidents to state authorities as required by Rhode Island law.

One of the perpetrators was the late Al Gibbs, who was fired as athletic trainer by the school in 1980 after multiple reports of inappropriate encounters with students. He died in 1996.

A Boston lawyer, who was jointly hired by the school and a victims' group, is conducting an independent investigation.