[A] longtime Vermont photographer has been accused of sexually abusing children in a Washington, D.C., preschool.
A civil suit filed by parents at the preschool of the Washington Hebrew Congregation alleges that Jordan Silverman sexually abused children over a two-year period from 2016 to 2018, and that school leadership failed to protect children “from a known and avoidable risk of sexual abuse.”
Silverman worked as a freelance photographer for Seven Days and as both a staffer and freelancer at the Burlington Free Press, according to his Linkedin page. He also worked at Norwich University for more than two years before moving to Washington.
According to Silverman’s website — which has since been taken down — he spent more than 16 years in Vermont before moving to Washington, and shot photos for newspapers, magazines and design, advertising and marketing firms. He also did family portraits and photographed weddings.
The lawsuit was filed by eight families against the Congregation’s Edlavitch Tyser Early Childhood Center and Deborah “DJ” Schneider Jensen, head of school for early childhood education. Silverman is not the object of the suit.
Silverman was hired as an assistant teacher “despite having no professional background in teaching or providing child care,” according to a press release from the law firm representing the families.
Both male and female children reported repeated and prolonged abuse by Silverman that included “the most grievous, demeaning and damaging forms of sexual abuse,” the law firm said.
Michael Dolce, an attorney at Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll, represents the victims and said that law-enforcement research indicates that many child sex abusers have multiple victims over time.
“So, as in any case involving credible evidence of sexual abuse of young children, anyone with concerns that the accused may have abused children at Washington Hebrew or elsewhere should contact law enforcement with that information; in this case, that would particularly include anyone in Vermont, where Mr. Silverman lived for about the first 20 years of his adult life,” Dolce said in the statement.
In an interview with VTDigger, Dolce said the firm conducted a months-long investigation into the abuse, and passed on some information to local law enforcement.
Dolce said that Silverman would single out children and take them to remote areas of the school, in violation of D.C. law requiring two adults to be with individual children or small groups of children at childcare facilities.
“Witnesses have indicated he would take the children off alone because there were purportedly behavior problems or they were interested in doing something different from the rest of the group, depending on the excuse of the day,” Dolce said.
Dolce said that since the science shows that child abusers start abusing at an average age of 21 and that a large majority of those abused never report their abuse, it’s possible there are more victims in Silverman’s past.
He said that he hopes that if there are other survivors or witnesses in either D.C. or Vermont, that they would contact D.C. police.
“I have every reason to believe there are additional children affected beyond those I represent, regrettably,” he said.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating the Washington Hebrew Congregation, said Kristen Metzger, the department’s deputy communications director.
No arrests have been made, and the department cannot confirm the identities of any alleged suspects, Metzger said.
The civil complaint alleges that concerns about Silverman were reported to Jensen as early as one month into his employment at the preschool, and “repeatedly” by both parents and teachers there after.
Silverman was allowed to be alone with children individually and in small groups, the lawsuit states.
“Concerns that Silverman was taking children alone to certain areas of the school, that he was sometimes late returning children after being alone with them and that co-workers were unable to locate him while he was alone with children were also shared with DJ Jensen, who allegedly rejected these and other concerns about Silverman, her hire, as unfounded without initiating any type of investigation,” the press release said.
Silverman was placed on administrative leave in August 2018 after a child disclosed the sexual abuse, and “a number” of similar allegations quickly followed.
The lawsuit alleges that the school was negligent in hiring Jensen and that Jensen was negligent in hiring Silverman. The families filed the suit anonymously to protect the identities of their children, and are seeking damages.
In a statement, the Washington Hebrew Congregation said that the school reported the allegations to DC police and Child Protective Services as soon as they became aware of allegations on August 16, 2018.
The statement said that child safety “has always been our top priority” and that the early childhood centers have not violated the law.
“Although there has not been any arrest, these allegations are very troubling; as a faith community, Washington Hebrew has supported and will continue to support its entire community as individuals grapple with how these allegations affect them and their families,” the statement said.
This story has been updated with a statement received Tuesday night from the Washington Hebrew Congregation.
