Prep School Says Ex-Teacher Engaged in Sexual Misconduct

A prestigious Massachusetts boarding school said an investigation has uncovered sexual misconduct by a Russian language teacher decades ago.

John Palfrey, head of school at Phillip's Academy in Andover, said in a letter to students and faculty Monday that an independent law firm concluded that Victor Svec engaged in sexual misconduct toward a student in the 1980s.

No further details about the misconduct were provided, and a spokeswoman for the Andover school said she wasn't immediately available Tuesday.

The Sanghavi Law Office, which was hired by the school to investigate all claims of misconduct, did not immediately return a phone message.

A number listed for Svec's home rang unanswered, and other attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Svec has been on a leave of absence since the allegation came to light in February and has since retired, Palfrey said. He is barred from campus and all Andover events and will not receive any further benefits from the school, he said.

"We are deeply sorry for the harm caused by this faculty member's misconduct,'' Palfrey said in the letter. ``The Board of Trustees and I are grateful that a former student had the courage and will to come forward to recount a painful and traumatic experience that occurred decades ago."

The announcement follows other allegations of sexual misconduct by former faculty members revealed by the school in recent years.

In 2016, the school alleged that five former teachers engaged in sexual misconduct toward students during the 1970s and 1980s. And last year, the academy said investigators determined there were another four cases of sexual misconduct, three involving former faculty members and one involving a student.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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