A more than 120-year-old private school in Ventura County has been hit by scandal over sexual harassment and misconduct charges. It’s a difficult revelation for Ojai’s Thacher School.
After hearing reports of a number of past abuses involving faculty, staff members, and students, Thacher’s Board of Trustees hired the law firm of Munger, Tolles, & Olson to do an independent investigation.
The 91-page report says much of what the discovered occurred during the 1990’s, and involved past faculty and staff members. It asserts there were incidents ranging from unwanted touching to rape. The victims includes students and faculty members.
The report says Thacher administrators failed to properly deal with reports of wrongdoing, noting students and families were afraid to pursue what had happened over fears of reprisals.
The report says that there are no documented problems involving current staff members.
Trustees issued an apology. They are asking additional victims to come forward, and have vowed to take a number of steps to ensure the safety of students.
