National Merit scholars. Graduates who matriculate at prestigious colleges and universities. A diverse student body that represents 10 countries.

The Key School, which 30 years ago people called the “hippie school,” has developed and promoted the reputation of an elite academic institution.

Now the Annapolis private school is reckoning — publicly — with a far-reaching sexual abuse scandal and allegations that officials masked nearly 20 years of sexual abuse, misconduct and harassment, according to a report release last week by the school.

Independent investigators from the Baltimore law firm Kramon & Graham retained by the school concluded that 10 adults in authority positions engaged in sexual misconduct or inappropriate relationships with students from the 1970s through the 1990s.

Peter Baily, executive director of the Association of Independent Maryland and D.C. Schools, said the report likely won’t affect Key’s accreditation status, but former students and employees said the school needs to restore trust in the community it has served for 60 years.

“One of its top priorities should be to rebuild credibility and trust with the community,” said Josh Cohen, former Annapolis mayor and 1990 Key graduate. “I think this report was an important first step in that process.”

Beyond a letter to the Key community, school officials have been mostly silent in the week since the release of the report. School leaders declined repeated interview requests from Baltimore Sun Media Group.

Some of the most serious allegations were brought against five male teachers. A woman told investigators she was 14 years old when one of the men got her pregnant, then paid for her abortion. Another said teachers kept photos of students in “nude and sexual positions.”

Nearly every witness interviewed described “extremely predatory” behavior that went unchecked for years.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating the allegations. No charges have been filed.

Carolyn Surrick said she’s spent the past 26 years “banging on the door,” trying to get school officials to do something about the sexual misconduct she endured as a student.

For years, no one would. Not even in 1993, when a former student alleged she was raped by a deceased teacher at the teacher’s school-sponsored memorial.

“I apologized to her,” said Ron Goldblatt, head of school from 1989 until 1999. The teacher was already dead, he said, and no further action was taken.

Before current Head of School Matthew Nespole, Goldblatt was the only school employee to report suspected child sex abuse to law enforcement, investigators said. He filed a report with the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services in 1997.

Goldblatt was a former litigator and felony prosecutor.

The report to social services came on the heels of a 1996 investigation into alleged sex abuse at the school. The board of trustees hired a law firm to conduct that investigation; the results were inconclusive, Goldblatt said.

The report also was sparked by the fact that one of the alleged abusers was still employed at the school. That teacher continued to work at Key until 2015.

“There was definitely a culture of silence,” said Goldblatt, who still resides in Annapolis.

Investigators believe the sex abuse concluded in the early 1990s.

School officials say they have spent the past decade rethinking their approach to background checks, school safety, employee training and physical space. The Maryland/D.C. independent schools association is piloting accreditation standards that assess schools’ policies and procedures regarding harassment, sexual abuse, and bullying awareness and prevention.

“I think every school has looked at guidelines regarding where adults and children may be, in terms of who may be alone in a space with a child and under what circumstances,” Baily said. “There’s a lot of self-reflection, self-monitoring and peer reflection and monitoring taking place.”

In a statement, The Key School officials alluded to the type of self-reflection Baily mentioned.

“As we look toward the future, to ensuring a safe, nurturing and empowering environment for our current and future students, we know Key will be strengthened by the lessons learned from the school’s past and from the stories brought forth by courageous survivors and victims,” said Nespole and Joe Janney, board of trustees president.

“Blind eyes will never be turned again.”

Independent investigators concluded that at least 16 former Key students were subjected to sexual abuse or misconduct. School officials have issued them an apology.

“At this point, I don’t know what kind of remedy, certainly there can’t be any type of sufficient vindication,” said Kim Brooks-Rodney, a Washington-based attorney, about the survivors.

Maryland lawmakers recently extended the statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims from age 25 to 38, Brooks-Rodney said. But many of the survivors are older.

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