The Board of Trustees and the School’s leadership are committed to providing support and care for those who have been negatively impacted by past wrongs with sensitivity and transparency while respecting any alumni preference for confidentiality. We hope that these resources will be beneficial for survivors and the larger community supporting them.
The following resources are available for those who experienced sexual abuse by faculty or staff while students at St. Paul’s School. These resources facilitate access to mental health services and provide compensation for long-term injuries former students may have suffered from such abuse.
- Sandra Matheson, an independent victim advocate consultant. Ms. Matheson is immediately available to listen, provide support and information, assist and support survivors in the reporting process, and to refer them to confidential trauma-informed therapeutic care. She can be reached at 603-540-7908 or at smathesonc@yahoo.com.
- RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), a national provider of sexual assault services also committed to a trauma-informed, survivor-centered approach. Trained RAINN staff will assess your needs and refer alumni to counselors and/or therapists in your local area. RAINN has a dedicated phone line (1-855-215-2281) for St. Paul’s School alumni or can be reached at hotline.rainn.org/online.
Both Ms. Matheson and RAINN will refer callers to a third-party administrator for payment of current therapy bills in order to maintain confidentiality after confirming alumni status and a therapy plan. They will not share any information with St. Paul’s School.
Arbitration
St. Paul’s offers abuse survivors a streamlined and confidential method outside of the court system to seek compensation for harm suffered from faculty abuse. Alumni may submit requests for compensation to a neutral arbitrator experienced in childhood sexual abuse claims. St. Paul’s will not appear at the arbitration. It is a confidential process involving an independent arbitrator, the survivor and the survivor’s attorney if the survivor chooses to have attorney representation. Survivors may share their stories confidentially with the arbitrator in person, by video conference, or telephone. The arbitrator will determine any compensation award. The School has arranged for the Honorable Nancy Holtz (ret.) to serve as the arbitrator. Judge Holtz has extensive experience handling sexual abuse cases during more than 30 years of practice as a judge, attorney, and an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioner, including 15 years on the bench. Further details on this arbitration option are available by contacting Sandra Matheson at 603-540-7908 or at smathesonc@yahoo.com.
Reporting Legacy Abuse
In May 2016, Casner & Edwards, LLP began an independent investigation requested by the School of reports of faculty and staff who may have been engaged in inappropriate behavior and/or sexual misconduct involving students. The reports of their investigation can be found below. Alumni may contact Scott Harshbarger, Esq. at Casner & Edwards or Dr. Theresa Ferns ’84, vice rector for school life.