Interlochen Report Details Decades of Sexual Abuse Allegations

An independent report released at the Interlochen Center for the Arts details roughly 70 allegations of sexual abuse by nearly 50 adults employed or affiliated with the Michigan boarding school and summer camp from the 1950s to the 2010s, contrasting sharply with its idyllic image and long history of launching prominent performers.

Decades of Abuse Revealed at Interlochen Center for the Arts

For decades, the Interlochen Center for the Arts maintained an idyllic reputation as a prestigious arts boarding school and summer camp in Michigan, helping launch the careers of notable performers such as Josh Groban, Norah Jones, Chappell Roan, Felicity Huffman, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. That polished image stands in stark contrast to the findings of a sweeping independent report released last month, which details approximately 70 allegations of sexual abuse involving nearly 50 adults employed by or affiliated with the school from the 1950s through the 2010s, according to reporting by NPR.

Conditions That Enabled Vulnerability and Exploitation

The independent report, compiled by the Sanghavi Law Office following an alumna’s 2024 coming forward about her experience in the 1970s with a longtime faculty member and administrator, offers a window into the conditions that contributed to the campus abuse. Investigators found that adults frequently secured one-on-one interactions with students while children at the school faced limited communication with their families. Students were rendered especially vulnerable due to their age, sexual identity, and lack of experience, with many left too frightened to report what happened to them. These dynamics created what the report characterized as gaps in oversight and a permissive environment within an institution built for children and teenagers aspiring to careers in the arts.

Alumni Testimonies and the Case of Thomas Clower

The fallout extends to individual survivors like Paul Busch, who was 16 years old and living away from his parents in 2005 when he was sexually abused by his ballet teacher at the Michigan boarding school. Busch shared his experience publicly for the first time after spending 21 years reckoning with the trauma, noting that his intense desire to prove his worth as a professional dancer created the perfect condition for someone to prey on him. In its letter to the community accompanying the report, Interlochen named three former staff members and one former trustee accused of sexual misconduct, identifying only one of them still living: Thomas Clower, the teacher who pleaded guilty to abusing Busch. At the time of the report’s release, Clower’s name was still listed on the website of a children’s and teenagers’ dance school in Texas before being subsequently removed.

High-Profile Associations and Institutional Response

The investigative findings also encompass allegations involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an alumnus and benefactor, alongside his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. NPR reported in February that Epstein met and recruited two young teenagers on the campus, though the new allegations reach far beyond the disgraced financier, who died in prison in 2019. Responding to the findings, Interlochen stated in a community letter that today it is fundamentally different from the institution described in this report and outlined new safety measures, including a network of resources comprising school counselors, social workers, and a psychologist. Yet for survivors like Busch, those institutional steps fall short. They get to say, Case closed, Busch said. That is completely unacceptable because — guess what? — my life is still open.

Interlochen report details decades of alleged sexual abuse at academy, 47 accused

Samira Rahman

Samira Rahman is the editorial identity for TellingPointy's World desk. Her coverage follows diplomacy, conflict, migration, security, climate, and global institutions through the decisions that change people's lives. Rahman's desk resists distant, map-level reporting: it identifies the actors, interests, evidence, and human consequences behind each development, distinguishes verified events from claims, and keeps historical context close enough to make breaking news intelligible.