DALTON SCHOOL SHOCK
Ex-head in kid sex-assault suit
The headmaster of an elite Upper East Side private school sexually assaulted a disadvantaged teen for months when he took her into his home to help out with his new baby, a new lawsuit charges. The accuser, identified only as J.S., was 14 when Gardner Dunnan, the longtime head of the Dalton School, allegedly preyed on her at his Upper East Side apartment starting in 1986. “Dunnan repeatedly touched J.S. without her consent, fondling her breasts, sticking his tongue in her mouth, disrobing and groping her, laying on top of her, and thrusting his genitals against her,” says the New Jersey filed Thursday federal-court against suit Dunnan and the school. J.S. — who had a “difficult” childhood in New Jersey — was introduced to Dunnan through her father’s girlfriend, the suit says.
Dunnan extended an offer for the young woman to attend Dalton free of charge and live at his home, provided she assist Dunnan’s then-wife in caring for the couple’s new baby.
“From J.S.’s perspective, this seemed like a dream,” the lawsuit says.
Dunnan even took her to the family’s second home in Ocean County. A photo taken around that time shows the teen smiling alongside Dunnan at the beach.
But soon the sexual abuse started, the suit alleges. J.S. claims Dunnan attacked her on four occasions between September 1986 and January 1987 — including one time when Dunnan’s wife was home.
“Dunnan’s wife did not see what was happening but had husband,” reason ef to and be suspicious afterward told of her J.S. she had to leave, the suit says of the January 1987 incident.
J.S.-transferred to a different school and underwent years of therapy, the suit says. She never reported the alleged assaults to the police.
It was only after the #MeToo movement exploded that J.S. decided to come forward. She accuses Dalton of turning a blind eye to Dunnan’s alleged behavior.
Dunnan was forced to resign in 1997 after his affair with a married female teacher at the school was exposed.
Under New York law, J.S. lost the chance to file a claim against the headmaster after she turned 23. She brought the suit in the Garden State, where the statute of limitations is more flexible.
“The #MeToo movement has . . . allowed our client to begin at last to confront and begin to address what happened to her,” said J.S.’s lawyer, Mariann Wang, of Cuti Hecker Wang LLP.
The school said it first learned of the allegations Thursday morning, adding, “We take these issues very seriously.”
Dunnan said: “During a career spanning more than 55 years in education, I have never mistreated a student or been previously accused of doing that, and am heartbroken about these false accusations.”