Concord
St. Paul’s contacted the Concord Police Department last Thursday about the allegations involving the Rev. Howard W. “Howdy” White Jr., who worked in the private school’s Sacred Studies Department from fall 1967 to spring 1971.
The sex-abuse allegations are not the first to surface against White. He was fired from St. George’s School, an Episcopal school in Middletown, R.I., in 1974 for admitted sexual misconduct, which was not reported to law enforcement at the time, according to the Providence Journal.
News that St. George’s had hired a private investigator this past January to look into decadesold allegations of sexual abuse, including against White, raised concern among St. Paul’s administrators, the school’s rector Michael G. Hirshfeld wrote in a letter to alumni on Friday. The Rhode Island investigation prompted St. Paul’s to retain it’s own lawyer, former Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger, to investigate any misconduct by White during his time in Concord.
Initially, the school found no evidence. But through their internal investigation, one alleged victim did come forward, the school said.
St. Paul’s said in a statement on Tuesday that it is concerned for the welfare of all of its past and present students.
“Student safety is our highest priority,” the school said. “The school has actively encouraged its alumni to come forward with any concerns concerning Rev. Howard White.”
The school referred all questions to local law enforcement.
Concord police Lt. Tim O’Malley confirmed the department opened an investigation into alleged sexual abuse on Aug. 4; however, because the case is pending, he could not confirm that White is the target of that investigation.
White became assistant chaplain at St. George’s School after leaving St. Paul’s in early 1971. He was one of several former staff members who Rhode Island State Police investigated as part of a sex-abuse scandal in that community.
Victims’ lawyers said they are aware of credible reports of rape, fondling or other abuse involving more than 50 victims, with some cases just a few years old, The Associated Press reported.
St. George’s School said White abused at least three students. Although, he and others were never criminally charged, in part due to the statute of limitations.
In New Hampshire, the current statute of limitations gives prosecutors 22 years from the child’s 18th birthday to file sexual assault charges. This gives young victims the chance to come forward well into their adulthood.
However, that time frame would not apply in this case because the alleged abuse dates back too many years. Older versions of the law gave victims even less time to report instances of abuse to the authorities.
Elite boarding schools throughout New England have been forced to confront a culture among students and staff that sometimes fosters a climate of sex abuse on their campuses.
At St. Paul’s, the sexual assault trial of 2014 graduate Owen Labrie revealed a tradition in which senior boys compete to have sex with younger girls. That notion of “senior salute” brought the Labrie case and the school national attention.