If you were a student at Choate Rosemary Hall and an adult at that school violated your trust, you are not alone. And depending on when the abuse occurred, you may still have the right to take legal action.
In 2017, Choate commissioned an independent investigation that confirmed what many graduates already knew: faculty and staff members sexually abused students at the school for nearly five decades. The investigation revealed that the school failed to report any of the abuse to police or state child welfare authorities until 2010 — despite the fact that Connecticut has required the reporting of suspected child abuse since 1965 and has required teachers to report since 1967.
This page explains what the investigations found, what it means for survivors, and what legal options may still be available under Connecticut law.
What the Investigations Revealed
The 2017 Covington & Burling Investigation
In the fall of 2016, Choate — a prestigious boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut — retained attorney Nancy Kestenbaum of Covington & Burling LLP, a major national law firm, to investigate reports of sexual misconduct by faculty and staff. The investigation was prompted in part by a former student’s public disclosure in the Boston Globe and by the school’s own internal review, which had received reports going back decades.
Over seven months, Kestenbaum and her team interviewed 101 individuals — alumni, faculty, staff, and trustees — and reviewed more than 23,000 pages of documents. The resulting report was released to the public in April 2017.
The findings were devastating:
Twelve individuals previously affiliated with the school — faculty members, staff, and spouses of faculty who lived on campus — were identified as having committed substantiated acts of sexual misconduct against students between 1963 and 2010. The abuse included intimate kissing, inappropriate touching, sexual intercourse, and forced or coerced intercourse. Twenty-four survivors came forward during the investigation, though the actual number of victims is likely higher — the report itself noted that not all cases were reported.
The school acknowledged that in almost every case, officials failed to report sexual misconduct to the authorities when allegations first surfaced. Instead, some teachers were quietly fired or allowed to resign. In some cases, departing faculty received letters of recommendation that helped them secure positions at other schools — a practice investigators and journalists have called “passing the trash.”
In at least one documented case, a teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student during a school trip abroad was fired but the school did not notify police. That teacher went on to work at several other schools in Connecticut.
The 2018 Day Pitney Follow-Up Investigation
After the 2017 report, additional reports of abuse continued to come in. Choate retained Stanley Twardy, a former United States Attorney for Connecticut, and his firm Day Pitney LLP to investigate these new allegations. Day Pitney presented its findings to the Board of Trustees on October 12, 2018.
Three additional individuals were identified as perpetrators. One used an outbreak of measles as a pretext for fondling students in a dormitory. Another engaged in sexually abusive conduct with students over a period of years. A third — the spouse of a former faculty member — engaged in sexual abuse including kissing and fondling of a student in the late 1960s.
The investigation also corroborated new allegations against faculty members already named in the 2017 report. Separately, the school received and corroborated credible allegations that another former faculty member engaged in sexually abusive conduct with a student over several months during the 1989–90 school year. Choate notified the school that was then employing the individual, and the teacher was fired.
2022 — Additional Misconduct
In 2022, Choate fired an employee after a third-party investigation found evidence of sexual misconduct with former students. The school notified state and local authorities. All allegations involved conduct from “many years ago,” and the investigation uncovered additional allegations of misconduct beyond the initial report that prompted it.
A Pattern of Institutional Failure
What makes the Choate situation particularly troubling — and legally significant — is not just the abuse itself, but the school’s response to it over decades.
Failure to report. Connecticut has required the reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and Families since 1965. Teachers have been mandatory reporters since 1967. Despite this, Choate did not make any report to DCF regarding sexual misconduct before 2010 — more than four decades of failing to comply with mandatory reporting requirements.
Passing the trash. The school’s own investigation documented that some teachers accused of sexual misconduct were allowed to resign rather than be fired. Some received letters of recommendation that helped them obtain positions at other schools, where they had access to new students.
Administrative inaction. In one documented case from 2010, when a teacher was accused of kissing a student, the headmaster initially agreed to let him remain at the school if he moved out of the girls’ dormitory and saw a psychiatrist. He was asked to sign a resignation letter to be used only if additional accusations surfaced or if the incident “became more of a public matter.”
Delayed accountability. The school launched its formal investigation only after a former student went public through the Boston Globe and the newspaper contacted Choate directly. Two former headmasters — Charles Dey (headmaster 1973–1991) and Edward Shanahan (headmaster 1991–2011) — resigned as life trustees after the 2017 report was released.
Choate itself acknowledged the scope of the failures. In its public statement, the school said: “On behalf of Choate Rosemary Hall, we profoundly apologize. The conduct of these adults violated the foundation of our community: the sacred trust between students and the adults charged with their care.”
Investigation Reports Are Publicly Available
The 2017 and 2018 investigations identified a total of 17 individuals in substantiated findings of sexual misconduct. The full investigation reports — including the names of all identified individuals — were published by Choate Rosemary Hall and have been widely reported by the Boston Globe, NBC News, PBS, and other news outlets. Survivors who wish to review the full findings can access them through the school’s public disclosures or news coverage of the investigations.
Whether the person who abused you was identified in these investigations or not, you may still have legal options. The investigations acknowledged that not every case was reported and not every perpetrator was identified.
Connecticut’s Statute of Limitations for Sexual Abuse
Connecticut law provides extended filing deadlines for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Whether you still have time to take legal action depends on when the abuse occurred and how old you were at the time.
If you were under 18 and the abuse occurred before October 1, 2019: You may file a civil lawsuit until age 48 — that is, within 30 years of turning 18. Because all documented abuse at Choate occurred before 2019, this is the rule that applies to most Choate survivors.
If you were under 21 when the abuse occurred and it occurred on or after October 1, 2019: A 2019 amendment to Connecticut law extended both the age threshold and the filing deadline. In this case you may file a civil lawsuit until age 51 — within 30 years of turning 21. Note that the statute is not retroactive – you must have been abused on or after October 1, 2019.
If your abuser was convicted of first-degree sexual assault: There is no time limit. Under Connecticut General Statutes §52-577e you may file a civil lawsuit at any time, regardless of when the abuse occurred.
What this means for Choate survivors: Many former students still have time to act. A survivor who was abused at age 15 in 1990 turned 48 in 2023 — their window has closed. But a survivor abused at age 15 in 1995 will not reach the age-48 deadline until 2028. A survivor abused at age 15 in 2000 will not reach age 48 until 2033. Every year matters, and the only way to know whether you still have time is to speak with an attorney who understands these deadlines.
For a complete breakdown of Connecticut’s statute of limitations rules, including the discovery rule and adult survivor provisions, read our CT Statute of Limitations Guide for Sexual Abuse Survivors.
Factors That May Strengthen Legal Claims Against Choate
Every case is different, and the strength of any legal claim depends on its specific facts. However, several factors in the Choate situation are worth understanding:
The school’s own admissions. Choate commissioned the investigation, released it publicly, and issued a formal apology. The school’s own report documents decades of institutional knowledge, failures to report, and administrative inaction.
Decades without mandatory reporting. Connecticut law has required reporting of suspected child abuse since 1965 (mostly medical personnel), and teachers have been mandatory reporters since 1967. Choate acknowledged it made no reports to DCF before 2010 — despite decades of documented allegations.
Heightened duty of care. As a residential boarding school, Choate accepted custody of children. Parents entrusted their sons and daughters to the school’s care 24 hours a day. Under the legal doctrine of in loco parentis, that creates a heightened duty of care — a special obligation to protect the students in its custody. The scope of that duty is a significant factor in evaluating any legal claim.
Passing the trash. Allowing known abusers to resign with recommendation letters — enabling them to obtain positions at other schools — goes beyond ordinary negligence. Depending on the circumstances, this type of conduct may support claims of recklessness under Connecticut law.
Substantial institutional resources. Choate’s endowment is valued at approximately $400 million. The school has the financial capacity to compensate survivors.
It Can Take Decades to Come Forward — and That’s Okay
If you were a student at Choate and you have carried this for 20, 30, or 40 years without telling anyone, you are not unusual. Research consistently shows that survivors of childhood sexual abuse often wait years or decades before disclosing what happened to them. Many never do.
There are many reasons people wait. Some weren’t sure what happened to them was abuse. Some blamed themselves. Some feared they wouldn’t be believed, especially against a prestigious institution. Some didn’t know they had legal options. Some simply were not ready.
None of those reasons disqualify you from pursuing a case. Connecticut’s extended statute of limitations exists specifically because lawmakers recognized that survivors need time. And Choate’s own investigation documented a pattern of abuse and the school’s failures in responding to it.
You do not need a police report. You do not need physical evidence. You do not need to have reported the abuse at the time. Your account of what happened to you is evidence — and it matters.
Why Survivors Choose Attorney Tom McNamara
Attorney Tom McNamara has spent his career holding powerful institutions accountable for covering up sexual abuse. He has represented more than 50 survivors against churches, schools, and other organizations across Connecticut.
Tom is the only attorney to have taken a clergy sexual abuse case to a jury trial against the Archdiocese of Hartford and won. His $1.66 million recovery — upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court — remains the only clergy abuse case tried to verdict against the Archdiocese. That case sent a clear message: when an institution covers up abuse, Tom McNamara will take the case to trial if that’s what it takes to get justice.
That willingness to go to trial matters in every case Tom handles — including cases against institutions like Choate. Defendants settle when they believe the attorney on the other side will actually try the case. Tom has proven he will.
To learn more about Tom’s record against the Hartford Archdiocese, visit our Hartford Archdiocese Sexual Abuse Cases page.
What Happens When You Call
We understand that picking up the phone after all these years is not easy. Many of the survivors we’ve worked with spent months or years thinking about it before they called. There is no pressure and no judgment.
When you call McNamara & Goodman, here is what to expect:
A brief, confidential conversation. You control the pace. You do not need to share every detail on the first call. We need only enough basic information to determine whether you may have a case — generally, your approximate age at the time of the abuse, the institution involved, and roughly when it happened.
An honest assessment of your legal options. We will tell you whether you likely have a viable claim, explain the statute of limitations as it applies to your situation, and walk you through what the process looks like.
No attorney fee unless we win. We handle sexual abuse cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Case costs and expenses come out of the recovery process and are discussed during your consultation. There is no fee to call and no fee for the initial consultation.
Your privacy is protected. Everything you share with us is confidential. In most cases, lawsuits can be filed using a pseudonym (such as John Doe or Jane Doe). The vast majority of these cases are resolved through private settlements without a public trial.
For a more detailed look at how the process works, visit our What to Expect When You Contact Our Firm page.
Free, Confidential Consultation
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different, and the value of any case depends on its specific facts and circumstances. The information on this page is drawn from publicly available reports and news coverage and is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this page or contacting our firm for a consultation.
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