Local News

St. George’s School has agreed to launch a new investigation into the sex abuse allegations

Harry Groome, of Arlington (third from right), a former student at St. George’s School, spoke to media this week. He claimed he was raped at age 14 by a fellow student.

The embattled St. George’s School has agreed to launch a new investigation into the allegations of sex abuse, appointing a “third party independent investigator,’’ reports The Boston Globe.

The decision was announced in a joint statement Thursday by board chair Leslie Heaney and rape victim Anne Scott, who went public with her story in December. Since Scott shared her story, more than 40 former students have told lawyers they were raped or molested at St. George’s.

In April, the Rhode Island prep school appointed an investigator to look into the abuse. However, that move was criticized by victims and attorneys because the lawyer who conducted the investigation was the law partner — and spouse —of St. George’s legal counsel. This week, victims demanded an independent investigation.

Advertisement:

“Today’s decision is a very important first step in what we hope will be a process of reconciliation and healing,’’ Scott told the Globe.

“The board is committed to a truly impartial investigation. There is nothing more important to us than that the review be thorough and exhaustive, and that its findings are found to be reliable and credible by all parties, particularly the victims,’’ Heaney told the Globe.

Read the full story in the Globe.

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com