A grand jury has indicted the former head of a western Massachusetts girls' boarding school on a child endangerment charge, accusing her of sitting on years of warnings about a teacher who is now separately charged with raping two students. Here is what the case alleges and why an administrator's silence can matter just as much as the abuse itself when it comes to a civil claim.
Reviewed by Abuse Justice Center · Updated 2026-10-28
Figures drawn from the county indictment reporting on a Massachusetts girls' boarding school case.
A grand jury in Massachusetts has indicted the former head of the school on a single misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment of a child. Prosecutors say she received multiple reports over the years describing a teacher's inappropriate relationships and interactions with students, and that she failed to adequately investigate or respond to them, allowing him to remain in the classroom for well over a decade.
Her attorney says she denies the allegations and maintains she did not know the teacher had abused anyone. The district attorney's office says the indictment follows a continued investigation and that more charges against her are possible as the case develops.
The teacher himself was indicted earlier this year on three counts of rape in Berkshire Superior Court, stemming from assaults on two former students who graduated from the school in 2005 and 2010. He has pleaded not guilty, and that case is proceeding separately from the endangerment charge against the former administrator.
The school has since completed its own internal review, which reportedly supports the allegations against the teacher. Together, the two indictments describe a pattern familiar to survivors of institutional abuse: a single accused individual, and an administrator whose alleged inaction let the conduct continue for years.
Criminal charges against an administrator are relatively rare, but the underlying theory behind them, that a school knew or should have known about a risk and failed to act, is the same theory that drives most civil negligent supervision claims against institutions. You do not need a prosecutor to bring endangerment charges against a principal or headmaster for a survivor to argue in civil court that the school was negligent.
What matters in a civil case is what the institution knew, when it knew it, and what it did or did not do in response. Reports that were filed away, complaints that went nowhere, or a teacher who was quietly moved to a different role instead of removed can all become key evidence, whether or not anyone connected to the school ever faces criminal charges.
If you were a student at this school, or at any boarding or day school where a staff member's behavior toward students felt inappropriate and nothing seemed to change, this case is a reminder that the passage of time does not automatically close the door. Massachusetts, like many states, has extended filing deadlines for childhood sexual abuse claims well beyond a survivor's 18th birthday.
A civil case against a school does not depend on waiting for a criminal verdict against either the teacher or an administrator. An attorney who handles institutional abuse claims can review what you remember, what records may exist, and whether the timeline supports a case, confidentially and at no upfront cost.
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Cases like this one raise the same question survivors of school abuse ask again and again: does it matter that the person who should have stopped it never touched me? Here is what typically matters in a civil claim.
Abuse Justice Center is a free information resource, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. Ask any attorney how they charge before you agree. Need support now? The RAINN hotline is 800-656-4673, 24/7.
No. Civil negligent supervision claims focus on what the institution knew and did, and can proceed whether or not any administrator is ever criminally charged.
A civil claim against the institution itself does not require the supervisor to still work there, or even to be a named defendant.
Not necessarily. Many states have extended or eliminated strict filing deadlines for childhood sexual abuse claims, so it is worth having a confidential conversation with an attorney before assuming your window has closed.
An internal review that supports allegations of abuse can be useful evidence, though every case depends on its specific facts and available records.