SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
KNTV - NBC Bay Area [San Jose CA]
August 21, 2023
By Candice Nguyen and Michael Bott
After an NBC Bay Area investigation, the president of St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco released a letter to parents and staff
St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco is explaining how it handled the situation involving a former drama director accused of kissing a freshman student years ago.
The prestigious Catholic prep school is being sued by an alum, who claims former teacher Peter Devine kissed him more than two decades ago in the school theatre. St. Ignatius in an email sent Monday to its community said it took quick action when it received the report last year, but not everyone agrees.
Edward Reese, the school president, said in the email the former student reported the incident to the campus’ current principal in 2022. Reese said that principal “immediately filed a report with the [San Francisco Police Department] and put [Peter Devine] on administrative leave.”
NBC Bay Area’s previous investigative report said St. Ignatius hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegation, which dates back to 1996, accusing Devine of aggressively kissing that freshman on the lips. The investigator also looked into two other claims involving Devine.
The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit found one former SI staff person reported seeing Devine pin a student against a wall backstage of the theatre in 2006.
“I saw a student pinned up against the wall by Mr. Devine,” said Sara Phillips-Ritchey, who worked at SI for nearly 20 years in the theater department before leaving the school earlier this year. “The student looked trapped. He looked very uncomfortable. Mr. Devine had one hand on either side of the student’s head.”
Devine denied the allegation, but the investigator found Phillips-Ritchey to be credible. The incident was reported to the school a few months later by Phillips-Ritchey’s supervisor, but the school wouldn’t tell NBC Bay Area whether the incident was reported to police.
The firm also looked into a third similar claim of inappropriate behavior but could not track down the student who made the report.
“Another former SI Teacher said that in September 2020, she received a text or saw a post from a former female SI student who said that ‘three different alums’ from ‘different years of graduation’ had alleged that Devine had assaulted them,” the firm’s report stated.
According to the school’s email on Monday, after the firm’s investigation it “immediately and promptly took appropriate action, and the teacher no longer works at [St. Ignatius].”
“Unfortunately, it’s par for the course,” said Tim Hale, attorney for the plaintiff. “What’s omitted from the letter are the two instances before my client coming forward reporting defendant Devine that were not reported to law enforcement that we’re aware of. That could’ve brought a lot of peace to my client — probably save other students from being abused as well.”
In the last line of the school’s letter to parents, the president said abuse reports should be directed to him or law enforcement.
NBC Bay Area reached out to San Francisco police on Monday to verify what exactly was reported to the department about Devine and when. Police said they are looking into the case and would get back to NBC Bay Area.
Devine on Monday also did not respond to calls requesting a comment.
Here’s the letter sent to the community from St. Ignatius:
A recent press story covered a lawsuit filed by a former student against the Jesuits West Province, St. Ignatius College Preparatory, and a former teacher at SI that alleges the teacher sexually assaulted the student in 1996.
In April of 2022, the alum informed Principal Michelle Levine about the incident from 1996. Principal Levine immediately filed a report with the SFPD and put the teacher on administrative leave. The school hired an outside independent investigator to investigate the allegations. Upon receiving the results of the investigation, SI immediately and promptly took appropriate action, and the teacher no longer works at SI.
We take allegations of abuse very seriously and do everything we can to support the victim. In this case, the alum’s accusations were immediately investigated and acted on. When one member of our community is hurt, we are all impacted. Please know that any complaints will always be immediately acted upon for the safety of that student and everyone else in our community.
If you or someone you know has been abused, please contact me or local authorities.
Edward A. Reese, S.J.
President, St. Ignatius College Preparatory