An independent investigation appeared to substantiate multiple allegations of child abuse at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, finding that some claims of abuse over the past 60 years were “credible” and “supported by evidence,” according to a post on the nonprofit’s website.
The Westminster school and residential home for children said it had reached a settlement with the vast majority — more than 90% — of former students who brought allegations of abuse.
“Kurn Hattin is devastated by the fact that any former students were mistreated during their time at Kurn Hattin, and Kurn Hattin is sorry that any child was harmed,” the post reads. “Kurn Hattin hopes that this process has brought some peace for them.”
It’s not clear when exactly the post, which was labeled “Joint Settlement Agreement Information,” was made public. According to the Internet Archive, it appears to have been online since at least August 24. It was not clear whether Kurn Hattin made a formal announcement about the finalized settlements or the results of the independent investigation.
Representatives from Kurn Hattin could not be reached via email or phone Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.
Little information about the results of the investigation or the settlement is publicly available. It’s not clear how many former students pursued claims against the school, when a final settlement was reached, how much money was paid out or how many claimants received money.
Nor is it clear when exactly the independent investigation, conducted by Burlington law firm McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan, was launched or when it was completed. It’s also unclear whether the investigative report will be made public.
Lawyers from McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan did not respond to a call seeking comment.
In 2020, VTDigger and other media outlets reported that multiple former students alleged years of harrowing abuse at the nearly 130-year-old nonprofit school and residential home.
After those allegations surfaced, Kurn Hattin said it had made multiple improvements to its safety processes and guidelines.
“We take these allegations extremely seriously,” Kurn Hattin executive director Stephen Harrison said in a statement that October. “If any child suffered at the hands of someone at Kurn Hattin Homes, regardless of how long ago, I am profoundly sorry, and all of us here will do all we can to ensure it never happens again.”
The institution also tapped McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan to conduct an independent probe into the allegations.
“Over the course of approximately 18 months, the Independent Investigators reviewed thousands of pages of relevant documents and interviewed scores of claimants and additional witnesses, including current and former Kurn Hattin staff and former Kurn Hattin students,” Kurn Hattin said in the recent post on its website.
That probe found that not all the allegations made by former students were supported by evidence. But the results of the investigation, and Kurn Hattin’s acknowledgement of them, appear to vindicate years of abuse claims from former students.
“The Independent Investigation found that some former Kurn Hattin staff were abusive toward students at different points over the approximately 60 years that the investigation covered,” Kurn Hattin said. “The vast majority of this abuse occurred over 30 years ago, yet there were also claims from more recent years.”
Leaders of the school said they had known of abuse allegations from the 1980s involving a man named Mark Davis, who had been convicted and incarcerated, but were unaware of more recent claims.
“The Independent Investigation concluded that many of the claimants raised credible claims and should be credited for their courage to come forward no matter how long after the abuse occurred,” Kurn Hattin’s website said. “The Independent lnvestigation further concluded that, although mistakes have been made over Kurn Hattin’s 130 years of operation, Kurn Hattin has been successful in its mission to transform the lives of disadvantaged children.”
Claimants’ attorneys could not be reached for comment.
In May, Vermont’s State Board of Education allowed the school to keep its state approval — a designation that allows the school to receive public tuition money, but involves increased oversight — until at least next year.
The accrediting body New England Association of Schools and Colleges, known as NEASC, is planning a “focused visit” to Kurn Hattin in January to “discuss updates to the legal situation and their financial impact,” according to an accreditation letter sent in February. Vermont Board of Education members are awaiting the results of that visit.
Harrison told employees in a May 7 email that after the settlements, only one “potentially impactful claim…will be litigated in the summer of 2024.”
“The result of these settlements will mean tightened budgets for a couple of years as we restore resources, but the continuation of Kurn Hattin Homes is not in jeopardy,” he wrote.
