Phillips Exeter Academy is one of the most elite boarding schools in the nation, with a glittering list of alumni that includes U.S. presidents and senators, as well as renowned scientists, authors, academics, musicians and business leaders.
The prestigious prep school has in recent days been the focus of headlines about a former Exeter mathematics teacher who is accused of the sexual abuse of a student.
Former math teacher arrested
Szczesny Jerzy Kaminski, 59, was recently arrested for aggravated felonious sexual assault and misdemeanor sexual assault.
He’s accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a student who resided at the school during the student’s ninth- and 10th-grade years (2013-2015).
An Exeter spokesperson said the school contacted law enforcement about Kaminski in May 2016, but information “surfaced” earlier this year about alleged “boundary violations.” A new police investigation was launched and the math teacher was fired.
School acknowledges sex abuse trauma
Exeter’s principal stated in a letter issued to parents that the school put Kaminski on notice after the conclusion of the 2016 investigation. “We know that the impact of sexual abuse is especially traumatic when a student is harmed by an adult whom they had every reason to believe they could trust,” the letter stated.
According to a news source, police reportedly told school officials that they believe the former teacher “further violated boundaries with the same victim” before and after the academy contacted police in 2016.
A history of abuse
The news article says multiple investigations found 11 former Exeter “staff members identified as having committed sexual misconduct while employed by the prep school between the 1950s and the 2010s.”
There have been cases of abuse at other elite boarding schools, including St. George’s School, Deerfield Academy, Pomfret School, Solebury School, Phillips Academy and Horace Mann School.
