In Today's News: "Former headmaster of Brooks School, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student, twice hired male escorts"
Prep school head failed to report impropriety; Headmaster allegations at first unknown to authorities
Forbes, an alumnus who served as board
president from 1987 to 1997, took steps to address the matter but did
not discipline the headmaster, Lawrence W. Becker, or report the
alleged relationship to the full board, according to a school
spokeswoman, Karen Schwartzman.
Becker went on to work for at least another
decade before retiring in 2008. On Thursday, the North Andover school
disclosed the reported relationship, describing Becker’s conduct as
“objectionable, manipulative, and an abuse of his position.”
In an e-mail to the school community, school
leaders said the relationship raised “grave concerns,” and urged anyone
with knowledge that called Becker’s conduct into question to come
forward.
School officials recently learned of the
alleged relationship, which occurred at some point during Forbes’s time
on the board, after reviewing Becker’s work record and determining that
he had hired male escorts on two occasions.
In a statement on Friday, Forbes said he
referred the matter to the school’s legal counsel at the time and that
“appropriate action was taken” after an investigation.
“Every step was undertaken with the advice and
direction of the school’s outside counsel,” he said. The matter did not
involve sexual abuse, he said in the statement.
The school declined to discuss the nature of
the relationship to protect the student’s privacy. Brooks would also not
say if Forbes was legally required to report the relationship.
Forbes was fully informed of Becker’s
relationship with the student, the spokeswoman said. He also consulted
with one other trustee, she said.
Forbes was a presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000.
Becker, in a statement released by his
lawyer, said the school’s e-mail on Thursday had caused him and his wife
“great pain, sadness and embarrassment.”
By including information about his private
life, the disclosure “encourages serious questions and speculation about
my relationships with students over the years,” said Becker.
In his statement, Becker did not explicitly
deny the inappropriate relationship, but suggested that the thousands of
students he had worked with would support him.
“They know the answers to those questions,” he said. “I leave the responses to them.”
Becker had previously worked as teacher and
administrator at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, which on Friday
notified faculty and staff about the reports.
“We will continue to follow this investigation
into Larry’s alleged behavior while at Brooks with sadness and
concern,” said an e-mail from a Hotchkiss administrator.
Jetta Bernier — who directs Massachusetts
Citizens for Children, a child advocacy group — said the school’s
description of the relationship implies “that some activity took place
that was out of line and possibly illegal.”
“No one should feel comfort in believing there
were not other victims,” she said. “I would like to think that if this
were happening at Brooks today, it would be handled in a different way.”
There have been no lawsuits filed against
Brooks or Becker in connection with the improper relationship. The case
was recently resolved to the satisfaction of the former student, the
school said.
The recent review of Becker’s tenure was
sparked by a number of “disturbing” e-mails about him that the school
received last summer. Becker initially said he did not know the sender,
but eventually acknowledged he was being threatened.
The school later learned the person was a male
escort whom Becker had hired in fall 2011. School officials then
reviewed an incident in 2004, when several school employees had
received calls saying Becker had engaged in “inappropriate sexual
behavior” while traveling alone on school business.
At the time, Becker denied those allegations, but school officials learned he had also hired a male escort on that trip.
Further conversations revealed the improper
relationship with the student, the school said. Schwartzman said that
“what’s paramount now” is that anyone with information that other
students may have been harmed at Brooks step forward.
“We do not take this step lightly,” school
leaders wrote in notifying the community. “We act now in the belief that
this inquiry is compelled by our highest priority, which is the
well-being of the students who have been entrusted to our care.”
Correspondent Todd Feathers contributed to this report. Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.
© Copyright 2014 Globe Newspaper Company.
