LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein allegedly found some of his earliest victims at an elite arts school in Michigan - Interlochen Center for the Arts.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A new report shows that the abuse did not start or end with Epstein. And a warning - for the next few minutes, you'll hear a detailed description of sexual abuse.
FADEL: NPR's Ava Berger has read that report and spoken to a victim and joins me now. Good morning, Ava.
AVA BERGER, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: I remember the allegations that surfaced about Epstein and this school. What's happening now?
BERGER: Well, it goes much deeper than most people might have thought. An independent report has revealed decades of sexual misconduct. Two years ago, Interlochen hired an outside law firm to look into allegations of abuse. That was prompted by a former student coming forward with an allegation from the 1970s. The numbers are staggering, Leila - some 70 allegations of sexual abuse against students by nearly 50 adults from the 1950s to the 2010s.
FADEL: Wow.
BERGER: None of those adults still work at Interlochen, and 17 of them are dead. Interlochen says that today the school has extensive safety measures to protect students. But the big question is still there, Leila. How could this happen? This is a school that is prestigious, with alums like Chapell Roan and Josh Groban. The report's findings offer us some clues. In many cases, it says, adults were able to meet alone with students. At the same time, the children at the school had limited communication with their families. They were vulnerable because of their age, sexual identities and lack of experience, and some were scared to report their abuse.
FADEL: I mean, those numbers - 70 alleged victims, 50 adults that may have been involved. You spoke to one of the victims - right? - Ava. What did he tell you?
BERGER: Yeah. I spoke to Paul Busch. He's sharing his experience publicly for the first time with NPR. He attended the boarding school, starting in 2004. Two months after he turned 16, he was sexually abused by his ballet teacher. Busch told me that he was at the teacher's house with another student when the teacher reached into his pants and molested him under a blanket.
PAUL BUSCH: I mean, my heart was, like, beating out of its chest, and I was - I think that's when I was really, like - I froze.
BERGER: He has spent 21 years reckoning with the abuse at the school, a place that was supposed to be safe for him. Busch's experience reflects some of those same themes from the report. He was living away from his parents. He said he wanted more than anything to be a professional dancer, and he revered that same teacher who harmed him.
When Interlochen released the report, they named that teacher - Thomas Clower. He's the only living staff member that Interlochen named who's accused of misconduct, and that's because he pleaded guilty. According to court records obtained by NPR, Clower pleaded guilty to attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct - a misdemeanor - and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. He was added to a sex offender registry, and Interlochen fired him.
FADEL: Did Paul Busch say that he got the support that he needed from the school at the time? And what did he say about this report that's coming out now?
BERGER: Well, Busch went on to spend two more years at the school. And he said he never received counseling and doesn't remember anyone from the school asking if he was OK. Because of that, he said the report and the school's response to it - it's just not enough for the victims.
BUSCH: They get to do the story. They get to edit. And then they get to present it, and then they get to say, case closed. That is completely unacceptable because guess what? My life is still open.
BERGER: Interlochen wouldn't speak specifically to Busch's case, but they apologize for the harm that community members experienced. As for Thomas Clower - the man who pleaded guilty to abusing Busch - he was teaching youth ballet as recently as last month, according to social media posts. Clower did not respond to our requests for comment.
FADEL: Wow. Thank you for that reporting, Ava. We really appreciate it.
BERGER: Thank you, Leila.
FADEL: You can read more about that story on npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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