New abuse probe raises Epstein behavior at elite US arts school

An investigation into a prestigious arts school in the US state of Michigan has uncovered decades of alleged sexual misconduct by dozens of faculty and staff members, while also revealing new allegations involving the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The 97-page report, released by Sanghavi Law Office earlier this week, was commissioned by the Interlochen Center for the Arts in 2024, to investigate allegations of abuse against several faculty members. The inquiry was later broadened and ultimately included allegations involving Epstein, a donor to the school.

Investigators collected 70 accounts from former students alleging physical conduct of a sexual nature involving 47 faculty and staff members between the 1950s and the 2010s, with most of the reported incidents occurring before 2000. The report describes a pattern of misconduct ranging from grooming, flirting, and inappropriate touching to sexual contact.

Epstein, who attended Interlochen’s summer camp in 1967 and donated more than $400,000 to the institution between 1990 and 2003, according to media reports, is also the subject of allegations in the report.

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Two former students accused the disgraced financier of sexual misconduct. One woman told investigators Epstein repeatedly touched her inappropriately under the guise of accidental contact while she was staying in a camp building that then bore his name. She said he later paid for trips to New York, where the unwanted touching continued.

Another former student alleged Epstein asked her to expose her breasts while she was giving him a massage at his private residence. She said she cut off all contact with Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, after the incident.

The building named after Epstein was stripped of his name in 2009 after the school learned of his 2008 conviction on sex crime charges in Florida. It was later renamed Green Lake Lodge and has since been demolished.

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The report also noted that at least two other Interlochen alumni were identified in federal investigative records related to Epstein and Maxwell. One later testified for the prosecution at Maxwell’s 2021 sex trafficking trial.

Outside the school investigation, at least two Interlochen alumnae made allegations of grooming and abuse against Epstein and Maxwell, according to previous media reports. It was not immediately clear whether they also participated in the Interlochen investigation. Their identities were not made public.

Interlochen said it has provided the names of everyone identified in the investigation to prosecutors in Michigan’s Grand Traverse County for possible criminal review. None of those accused still work at the institution, while more than one-third are deceased.