New Hampshire prep school settles with abused former student

Concord, N.H. (AP) — An elite New Hampshire prep school has agreed to a confidential legal settlement with a former student who was sexually abused by two teachers in the 1970s.

The settlement between the St. Paul’s School in Concord and William Foley was reported by New Hampshire Public Radio.

“I wish (the abuse) had never happened, obviously, I would have liked to have been happy, and I think St. Paul’s made a sincere effort to address that with me,” Foley, who enrolled in St. Paul’s in 1974 and now lives in New York.

In a statement, St. Paul’s says the school was “pleased” to reach a resolution with Foley and apologized for the abuse Foley suffered. Board President Archibald Cox Jr. said the school plans to announce additional resources for students who were abused by faculty or staff.

An independent investigation requested in 2016 by St. Paul’s found that more than a dozen former faculty and staff members who worked at the school between 1947 and 1999 engaged in a range of sexual misconduct. The same investigation found evidence the school failed to either protect students or fully investigate their complaints at the time.

Foley’s abuse, which was documented in the report completed last year, comes as St Paul’s faces multiple lawsuits over sexual assault.

Foley’s attorney, Eric MacLeish, said the settlement was reached “very quickly.”

“There was no questioning what had occurred with Mr. Foley, everybody recognized how tragic it was,” said MacLeish.