Pingry School, 13 more sexual abuse survivors reach settlement – My Central Jersey

The Pingry School and lawyers representing 13 additional survivors of sexual abuse announced on Monday they have reached a settlement.

In a joint statement, the school and the attorneys for the abuse survivors say the settlement is “designed both to offer the survivors financial relief and to reaffirm the school’s commitment to providing a safe environment.”

The terms of the settlement, including any monetary awards, were not disclosed.

In April 2018, Pingry settled with another 21 survivors of abuse.

Jeffrey Edwards, chairman of Pingry’s board of trustees, extended “deepest regrets” to the survivors for the abuse they experienced at the school and the suffering they have endured since.

Edwards said Pingry remains committed to the safety and well-being of its students as its highest priority. He said Pingry hopes these measures will help the survivors move forward in their healing process. 

Since engaging a firm to conduct an independent investigation into the sexual abuse allegations and circumstances surrounding the tenure of former faculty member Thad Alton and others, Pingry has worked with the survivors to bolster the school’s safe-environment practices, including establishing a student safety advisory committee.

READ: Pingry, sexual abuse victims reach settlement

Also, as a result of the input from survivors, Pingry has undertaken an audit of its child protection policies, including a review of methods to report suspicions of abuse or inappropriate behavior, among other actions.

The 13 survivors in the recent settlement were represented by Eric Kahn and Rubin Sinins of the law firm Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins, along with Steven Crew and Peter Janci of the law firm Crew Janci.

In Monday’s statement, the attorneys said they are pleased Pingry listened to their clients, acknowledged the suffering that they endured dating back to the time of the abuse in the 1970s, and taken measures to address their pain.

The victims were sexually abused as pre-teen boys at the lower school in Short Hills, between 1972 and approximately 1980, mostly by Alton, a teacher, school administrator, coach, Boy Scout troop leader and a counselor at Camp Waganaki in Maine, where many students and families spent their summers.

In March 2017, Pingry issued an apology to the victims and released a 44-page report the school had commissioned by a private firm, T&M Protection Resources, that detailed the abuse.

Alton was investigated by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in 1979 and criminally convicted of multiple “acts of lewdness,” including masturbation, involving 12-year-old Pingry students.

In 1990, Alton was convicted in New York State and imprisoned for sexually abusing young boys.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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