Independent report details decades of abuse allegations and school response changes today.
A newly released report has documented decades of sexual abuse claims involving former students at Interlochen Center for the Arts in northern Michigan. The investigation collected firsthand accounts from 70 former students who described misconduct by 47 adults connected to the well-known arts school and summer camp. The reported incidents span from the 1950s through the 2010s and include unwanted sexual comments, grooming, sexual assault, and inappropriate relationships between adults and students.
The review was carried out by a Massachusetts law firm that was hired by Interlochen in 2024 after school leaders received information about past misconduct involving former employees. Investigators spent months interviewing former students, campers, and other people connected to the school. About 180 interviews were completed with around 150 former attendees before the final report was released. The report was created to preserve the stories shared by former students rather than decide legal responsibility for the abuse claims.
Many former students described adults who crossed personal boundaries while holding positions of trust. Some accounts involved unwanted touching and sexual remarks, while others described serious assaults. One former student said a faculty member cornered and kissed her against her will during the 1960s. Another described being pressured into a sexual relationship with a staff member during the 1970s after writing him a poem. A separate account from the 1980s described a school trip that ended with a faculty member forcing himself on a student inside a hotel room. Students from later years also reported adults who built emotional relationships with teenagers before behaving in ways that made them uncomfortable.
The report names only a small number of people accused of misconduct. Most are not identified because of privacy concerns or because authorities may still review the information. Among those identified is Thomas Clower, a former faculty member who was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in 2005 after being fired by the school. Other named individuals include former faculty members and administrators who either have died or are no longer connected to the institution.
The report also examines the connection between Interlochen and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to former students, Epstein used his relationship with the school and his financial support of the institution to meet young women. Some former students said he promised scholarships or career opportunities before later drawing them into his network of sexual exploitation. Epstein’s name appears many times in connection with the abuse claims throughout the report because several former students described encounters that began through Interlochen years before his first criminal conviction.
Previous students also raised concerns about the school’s past response (or lack thereof), to reports of abuse. Some believed adults working at the school either suspected misconduct or knew about it but failed to stop it. One former student said the treatment received after reporting abuse caused as much pain as the abuse itself. Others recalled feeling that students had little protection and were left to deal with dangerous situations on their own.
School leaders issued a public apology to people harmed by abuse connected to the institution. They said the experiences described in the report represent painful failures from the past and stated that such behavior will not be accepted. Officials also said the school did not influence the report’s findings and accepted the investigation as an honest record of what former students shared.
Interlochen said many safety changes have been put into place during the past 25 years. School officials reported that background checks, staff training, reporting rules, and other protective steps are now part of daily operations. None of the people accused in the report remain employed by the school. The institution has also created a fund to help pay for therapy for survivors through an outside organization and plans to install a permanent piece of art recognizing those affected. Information from the investigation will be turned over to local law enforcement for review, and the school will examine buildings and programs named after people connected to the allegations.
Sources:
Interlochen report details decades of alleged sexual abuse at academy, 47 accused
Michigan school investigation turns up sexual misconduct reports against Epstein, others
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