Allegations of Misconduct at Michigan Arts School

Two individuals who attended an esteemed arts school in Michigan have accused Jeffrey Epstein, a major donor, of sexual misconduct. This is part of an investigation that also uncovered allegations against nearly 50 other individuals spanning decades.

The Interlochen Center for the Arts, which runs a summer camp and performance arts school attracting students globally, hired a law firm in 2024 to investigate sexual abuse claims involving faculty and staff. The investigation eventually expanded to include Epstein, the financier who died by suicide in jail in 2019 at age 66.

Epstein’s name was removed from a lodge by Interlochen after his conviction for sex crimes in Florida in 2008. The building, renamed as Green Lake Lodge, was demolished following the release of extensive documentation about Epstein by the Department of Justice.

The Sanghavi Law Office collected 70 accusations from alumni alleging “physical sexual conduct” by 47 faculty and staff associated with Interlochen, spanning from the 1950s to the 2010s. The majority occurred before 2000.

The gathered information from this investigation is described as “devastating” in a 97-page report. It details that alumni reported grooming, flirting, sexual touching, and intercourse.

Interlochen shared names of the accused with the authorities in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, to explore potential action. None of the accused individuals currently work at the school, and more than a third are deceased.

“We deeply regret the harm inflicted on community members and extend our apologies to those affected by the abuse at Interlochen,” stated institution president Trey Davey and board chair Barrett Rollins in an online letter to the community.

While most incidents in the report happened decades ago, and reports of abuse at Interlochen have significantly decreased in 25 years, the passage of time doesn’t lessen former students’ experiences. They emphasized that sexual abuse by an adult in authority against a student is wrong, past and present.

Interlochen claims to be “fundamentally different” today, featuring comprehensive safety policies and a transformed culture.

Epstein, who played the bassoon, was an Interlochen camper in 1967 and donated over $400,000 between 1990 and 2003. Two women reported Epstein engaged in sexual misconduct with them, one incident occurring at the lodge bearing his name.

The report states he inappropriately touched one woman “over her clothing” in a way that seemed accidental. Epstein also allegedly paid for her to visit him in New York, where she felt paralyzed whenever he acted inappropriately until he stopped.

The other woman claimed, according to the report, that she gave Epstein a massage at his home and he might have asked her to remove her top. She never encountered Epstein or his then-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, again.

Apart from the school’s investigation, at least two former Interlochen students accused Epstein and Maxwell of recruitment and abuse, as evidenced by federal records and news reports. These accusers’ identities remain undisclosed.

One testified against Maxwell in 2021, during her conviction for sex trafficking. It’s unclear if these women communicated with the law firm handling Interlochen’s investigation.