Dear ASIJ Parents, Trustees, Alumni, Faculty and Members of the ASIJ Community,

Transcription

1 June 15, 2015 Dear ASIJ Parents, Trustees, Alumni, Faculty and Members of the ASIJ Community, With a profound sense of respect and responsibility for the survivors of the Jack Moyer sexual abuse, as well as out of an understanding of our duty for current and future generations of ASIJ students, the ASIJ board writes to inform you that the Ropes & Gray LLP ( Ropes ) independent report is now publicly available on the ASIJ and Mustangs Online (MOL) websites. The report was commissioned in June of 2014 and completed on May 18, We again wish to thank all of those involved who demonstrated strength and courage in initiating, contributing to, and allowing the publication of the investigation report. The report is divided into the following sections: an account of the abuse perpetrated by Jack Moyer, analysis of the reports made to the school, details of other reports of alleged inappropriate behavior at ASIJ, and a discussion on school policies. During the compilation of the report, Ropes reviewed over 26,000 documents and made contact with over 100 individuals in order to complete the independent investigation. At the request of the survivors, we are able to include some of their own accounts (these are only summarized in the Jack Moyer section of the Ropes report). We applaud their bravery in allowing the statements to be made public. They have chosen to make this valiant decision in an effort to strengthen the community and ensure that future generations are adequately protected. The Ropes report is redacted to comply with Japanese privacy laws. No redactions were required in the Jack Moyer section. Some personal details were excluded from other sections. Other than this, the report is unchanged. Survivor statements are redacted in the same manner. Because the report and survivor statements are graphic and sensitive we ask that they be treated with the utmost sensitivity, care and respect. The subject matter is not appropriate for children please exercise caution. Given the risk that elements may be taken out of context, we ask that you please refrain from quoting or reproducing survivor statements. With this announcement, we would like to take the opportunity to again convey our sincere and heartfelt apology to those who suffered and to renew our pledge to make ASIJ a safe environment and a strong and united community. Sincerely, The ASIJ Board of Directors

2 The Ropes & Gray report of sexual abuse by Jack Moyer. Warning: the content is sensitive, personal, and graphic. It is not intended for children. Parental discretion is required.

3 Report to the Board of Directors of the American School in Japan May 18, 2015

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction... 1 A. Scope of Investigation and Methodology... 1 B. Executive Summary... 2 II. Jack Moyer... 2 A. Moyer s Affiliation with ASIJ, B. Moyer s Reputation Among Students, Faculty, and Administration... 3 C. Allegations of Moyer s Misconduct s s s III. ASIJ Administration s Response to Reports of Moyer s Misconduct A. 1960s B. 1970s C. 1980s D. 1990s E to Present IV. Allegations Concerning Other ASIJ Personnel V. ASIJ Policies and Procedures A. Historical Policies B. Current Student Protection Policies VI. Conclusions A. Jack Moyer B. Policies, Procedures, and Recommendations Appendix A Document Review Methodology Appendix B Student Protection Handbook... 35

5 I. INTRODUCTION A. Scope of Investigation and Methodology On June 4, 2014, the Board of Directors of the American School in Japan announced that it had engaged Ropes & Gray LLP to conduct an independent investigation concerning allegations of sexual abuse by Jack Moyer, a teacher and consultant formerly affiliated with the American School in Japan ( ASIJ ) from approximately 1962 to Ropes & Gray was also asked to investigate: How ASIJ faculty, staff, and administrators responded to these allegations over time; Other allegations of sexual misconduct by individuals associated with ASIJ; and Past and current policies and procedures implemented by ASIJ to address student safety, including policies and procedures designed to detect and prevent sexual abuse. In order to conduct this investigation, we undertook the following steps during the months spanning our review: Established a dedicated address and telephone hotlines in both the United States and Japan publicized on ASIJ s website and by to ASIJ parents, trustees, alumni, faculty and members of the ASIJ community in order to solicit input from the ASIJ community and anyone with relevant information to provide. The address and telephone hotlines were also reported in The Japan Times. Conducted interviews and/or reviewed written submissions from over 110 current and former ASIJ board members, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni. Interviews were conducted in person in Tokyo and in the United States, as well as by telephone and videoconference. Collected and reviewed over 26,000 documents dating from the 1960s to 2015, including personnel files, alumni files, board meeting minutes, correspondence, s, witness statements, handbooks and manuals, yearbooks, and files related to the Miyake Program. A more detailed discussion of Ropes & Gray s document collection and review can be found at Appendix A. We received full cooperation from the Board, administration, and faculty in the course of our investigation. 1

6 B. Executive Summary It is obvious to us that ASIJ is a special place with a vibrant student population, dedicated staff, faculty, board, administration, and caring alumni. We interviewed many former ASIJ faculty and alumni who spoke very fondly of their time at ASIJ and the strength of the ASIJ community. It was evident that strong feelings related to the allegations of Jack Moyer s misconduct and the School s response arise in no small part because the ASIJ community cares very much about the School and its students. Based on the investigation we have conducted, we have identified at least nineteen specific women with whom Moyer is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct while the women were minors and ASIJ students in the 1970s and 1980s. The misconduct ranged from unwanted touching (e.g., foot rubs and back massages), to fondling of breasts and genitals, to serial rape. In Section II below, we address in chronological fashion allegations regarding Moyer s sexual misconduct, and in Section III, we address the School s response to any alleged reports of that misconduct. In Section IV, we address allegations that were raised during the course of our investigation concerning ASIJ personnel other than Moyer. Section V addresses School policies and procedures, both historic and present, and how current policies and procedures are implemented. In Section VI, we offer our conclusions concerning the investigation, as well as recommendations for further enhancement of ASIJ s student protection policies, in an effort to bolster steps already taken by the School to provide a safe environment for its students. Names have been redacted in this report in order to protect the privacy and confidentiality of alleged victims and others who participated in this investigation. II. JACK MOYER A. Moyer s Affiliation with ASIJ, Jack Moyer worked as a teacher at ASIJ from September 1962 until the spring of 1984, when he stopped classroom teaching at the end of the academic year. While he was a member of the faculty, Moyer taught 7th grade science and a 7th grade class on Japanese culture and society called Japan Lands and People ( JLAP ). He organized and ran a week-long outdoor education field trip for the 7th grade class to Miyakejima ( Miyake ), an active volcanic island in Japan s Izu archipelago (hereinafter referred to as the Miyake Program ). Moyer also coached girls junior high volleyball and basketball, and taught an extracurricular SCUBA class at ASIJ. After he stopped classroom teaching, Moyer worked for ASIJ as a consultant from 1984 to In that capacity, he continued to organize the Miyake Program, and also led School-sponsored family weekend trips to various parts of Japan organized by the ASIJ advancement office. While he was teaching at ASIJ, Moyer maintained two residences: a small home within walking distance of ASIJ s Chofu campus, and a farm on Miyake which contained 2

7 both living quarters and Moyer s marine science research laboratory. While he was teaching at ASIJ, Moyer spent his summers on Miyake and often traveled to the island on weekends and breaks during the academic year. Moyer moved to Miyake full-time in 1984 after he stopped classroom teaching. Moyer ran the School s Miyake Program from 1969 to 2000, although he appears to have been less involved in the program s later years. During the Miyake Program, students and faculty chaperones traveled to the island on an overnight ferry and spent a week engaging in outdoor activities (e.g., hiking and diving), conducting scientific research, and learning about the island s culture and environment. Half of the students (both boys and girls) stayed with faculty chaperones at a local inn while the other half stayed at Moyer s home with Moyer and any other faculty chaperones; the two groups switched places during the second half of the week. Moyer s home had three rooms with tatami mat floors where the students slept during the Miyake Program: boys in one room, girls in another, and any chaperones in the middle room. For a period of time, high school students stayed at Moyer s home during the Miyake Program and served as junior chaperones; by the late 1970s, it appears that faculty chaperones stayed at Moyer s home to supervise students. The Miyake Program ended in 2000 after a volcanic eruption on the island that summer; the School ended its consultancy with Moyer that fall, as discussed further in Section III below. We note that the bulk of the reports of alleged abuse we received do not appear to have occurred during the School-sanctioned Miyake Program or on School premises, but rather on other occasions privately arranged by Moyer in which he invited students to his home near the Chofu campus or on Miyake. B. Moyer s Reputation Among Students, Faculty, and Administration Many former faculty, administrators, and alumni alike noted that Moyer was a published marine biologist who was well-respected among his colleagues in the field. They spoke of his work as an environmentalist, his fluency with the Japanese language, and his well-known connections in Japanese culture and society. Several former faculty and alumni noted Moyer s charisma as a teacher and spoke of his ability to generate in students an interest in science, particularly marine biology. Many former faculty and alumni also commented on the educational quality of the Miyake Program and the unique, natural beauty of the island. While some of the individuals with whom we spoke told us that they did not see anything they regarded as inappropriate while Moyer was working at ASIJ, others told us that they witnessed Moyer engaging in boundary-crossing behavior (e.g., hand holding, foot rubs, and back massages) and/or were aware that Moyer spent significant time in and out of school with certain female students. Both former faculty and alumni stated that Moyer had a cult-like following of mostly female students who would spend time in his classroom. Many also told us that Moyer s reputation engendered trust by parents, 3

8 faculty, and administrators, and that Moyer used his reputation, research, and the attraction of Miyake to draw students to the island for unsupervised weekend and summer visits. C. Allegations of Moyer s Misconduct Our investigation identified at least nineteen specific women with whom Moyer is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct while they were minors and ASIJ students. Eighteen of the nineteen women were interviewed and/or submitted written statements as part of our investigation. Our interviews with twelve of these women were coordinated through their counsel at O Donnell Clark & Crew LLP ( OC&C ). 1 At least one other woman who alleges abuse by Moyer and is represented by OC&C declined through counsel to be interviewed at this time. In addition to the thirteen women represented by OC&C, we either interviewed and/or received statements from six other women who allege sexual misconduct by Moyer. Each of these women s experiences with Moyer is discussed below. It is also worth noting that in a to an ASIJ alumna ( Moyer s ), the original of which was not provided to Ropes & Gray, Moyer identifies twelve women whom he admits to sexually abusing while they were students at ASIJ. Seven of these twelve women were interviewed as part of our investigation in interviews coordinated through their counsel at OC&C. We were unable to identify the other five women, and counsel at OC&C, who represent the alumna who received Moyer s , declined to share the names and identities of these women citing privacy concerns, an inability to identify the individual, and/or a decision by the women or their families not to participate in Ropes & Gray s investigation at this time. In Moyer s , Moyer also lists at least four and up to seven other ASIJ students to whom he was attracted but whom he claims not to have abused. During the investigation, we were unable to identify these women, save one, whom we interviewed and whose experience with Moyer is discussed below. In the course of our interviews, we were also made aware of several other women whom reporters believed may have also been victimized by Moyer. Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, the School s announcement of our investigation and publication concerning contact information for our and telephone hotlines, and our desire to respect victims privacy and not to engage in unwelcome outreach, we did not affirmatively contact these additional women. The statements of all those who reported to us about Moyer s misconduct are powerful and deeply troubling. They tell of a serial pedophile who victimized young girls in a systematic way. Although any attempt to summarize these women s statements will inevitably lack the level of detail and emotion conveyed by the statements themselves, we 1 The statements of these twelve women have been shared with the Board, with the permission of their counsel at OC&C. 4

9 believe that it is important to include the following as an overview of what was reported to us about Moyer s misconduct. The summary fashion of these descriptions should not be understood as minimizing any other interactions with Moyer that are not specifically mentioned in this report. In addition, the inclusion of the summaries below should not be understood as minimizing Moyer s actions toward other individuals who may not have come forward or whom we were unable to identify s In a statement submitted to investigators, an alumnus from the 1960s reports that Moyer was the only adult chaperoning an overnight trip of 7th grade students to Kujukuri, Chiba Prefecture, as part of the JLAP program in the mid-1960s. The alumnus reports that while the students were sitting around a fire pit on that trip, he observed Moyer put his hands underneath two female students shirts and rub their backs. The alumnus expressed regret that he did not report what he had observed at the time. In Moyer s , discussed above, Moyer wrote that his first sexual encounter with an ASIJ student was in the late 1960s while the student was 17 years old and was visiting Miyake in the summer before her senior year. In the , Moyer reports that he and the student engaged in oral sex. The abuse allegedly continued until the student graduated from high school. We were unable to determine this student s identity or any further information about this episode. A former student told investigators that when she was a middle school student during the school year, Moyer asked her to visit him at his home near campus. She reported that when she entered his home, she saw a girl she recognized wearing only a bra and underwear. She reported that she left without seeing Moyer and did not discuss what she saw with anyone at ASIJ s Student #1 reports that Moyer invited her to his home near campus to walk his dogs before school. She reports that, on one such occasion during the fall of 1970, when she was a middle school student, Moyer fondled her breasts underneath her clothing. She reports that this continued through 1972, both at Moyer s home and on weekend and summer trips to Miyake, where Moyer eventually proceeded to touch her genitals. Student #1 estimates that these incidents with Moyer occurred as many as 80 to 100 times. Student #1 reported to us that she did not tell anyone about the alleged abuse at the time, although as discussed in more detail in Section III below, she contacted ASIJ personnel and administration about Moyer s conduct several times beginning in

10 Another ASIJ alumna provided further information about an interaction she observed between Moyer and Student #1. She informed investigators that she and other classmates observed Moyer with Student #1 in the bathroom on a weekend or summer trip to Miyake in the early 1970s. She reports that Student #1 was sitting on a bath stool and did not appear to be wearing pants. She further reports that Student #1 told her and her classmates that Moyer was helping her to treat a rash. The alumna did not recall telling anyone else about what she had observed at the time. Student #2 told investigators that she visited Miyake in the spring of 1971, as part of the Miyake Program. She reported that while she stayed at Moyer s home on the island with her classmates, Moyer touched and caressed her foot. She further reported that during the same trip, Moyer repeatedly put his hand on her back. She did not believe that she mentioned her experience with Moyer to anyone else at the time. Student #3 reports that Moyer began giving her open mouth kisses when she was in middle school in She reports that Moyer repeatedly fondled her breasts and rubbed his hands all over her body on a trip to Miyake with friends at Moyer s invitation during the school year. She reports that she visited Miyake several times between 1973 and 1975, and that the fondling continued on these trips. On one such occasion in 1975, on a trip taken between the Christmas and New Year holidays, Student #3 reports that Moyer attempted to convince her to have sexual intercourse with him, but that she refused and instead he performed oral sex on her and had her do the same to him. Student #3 told us that she told a male classmate at the time about the December 1975 incident with Moyer. In a written statement, the male classmate reported that he went to Miyake with Student #3 and Moyer in December 1975, but that Moyer told him to leave the island a day earlier than Student #3. He reported that a few days after Student #3 returned from Miyake, she told him that Moyer tried to convince her to have sexual intercourse with him and, after she refused, forced her to perform oral sex on him. The male classmate stated that he left Japan at the end of that school year and did not talk to Student #3 about this incident again until the summer of At some point between , during the tenure of the Head of School at the time ( Head of School #2 ), 2 Moyer wrote a letter to Head of School #2 requesting that Head of School #2 reconsider a decision to ban Student #3 from overnight activities. Moyer stated that he believed Student #3 was a good student, that he 2 Relevant Heads of School and other members of the administration have been numbered chronologically in this report based on their tenure. Reference to Head of School #1 is made below in Section III.A. 6

11 would guarantee her good behavior, and that she would benefit from the educational component of the overnight trips. Moyer stated that he had had Student #3 as [his] guest on Miyake on several occasions and that he had a very close and very good relationship with her. In a postscript, Moyer refers to a recent talk with Head of School #2 and mentions that he has had many sessions with Student #3. Student #4 reports that, in 1972, when she was in high school, she frequently visited Moyer s home to walk his dogs. She reports that, on one such visit, Moyer asked her to masturbate him and perform oral sex on him. She reports that she and Moyer began a relationship that continued in and She reports that she and Moyer would typically meet in the mornings at his home near campus and perform oral sex on one another. She further reports that she began having sexual intercourse with Moyer when she lived with him during the fall of 1975, after which time she dropped out of school and moved out of Moyer s home. Student #4 stated that she did not know if any other students or faculty knew that she was living with Moyer at the time, but noted that his home was in a neighborhood close to ASIJ where many other teachers lived. As discussed in Section III below, Student #4 reports that one of her other teachers from ASIJ visited Moyer s home while she was living with Moyer. Student #5 reports that Moyer fondled her breasts and buttocks when she visited Miyake at Moyer s invitation during the spring of 1974, when she was in high school. She reports that Moyer continued to abuse her during a summer trip to Miyake that year by fondling her breasts and genitals and making her touch his genitals. She informed us that in the spring of 1976, she told her now-husband, who was also an ASIJ student at the time, what had happened between her and Moyer. She told us that neither she nor her husband told anyone else about her experience at the time, although, as discussed in Section III.B below, Student #5 reports that in 1979, she and her husband informed the Principal at the time about Moyer s conduct. Student #6 told investigators that she visited Miyake for a weekend with friends at Moyer s invitation during the summer of 1974 when she was a middle school student. She reports that Moyer put his hand up her shirt and stroked her back and buttocks while lying next to her on the ferry on the way to the island. She reports that she did not tell anyone at the time about what had happened with Moyer, but that she subsequently disclosed her experience with Moyer to Student #1 in or around In a letter to the ASIJ Board Chair dated December 9, 2011, an ASIJ alumnus from the 1960s ( 1960s alumnus ), reports that in 1974 he stayed in Moyer s home on 7

12 Miyake for a brief period and observed female ASIJ students who were on the island conducting summer research sleeping in the same room as Moyer with no chaperones present. The 1960s alumnus correspondence with the School in 2011 and after is discussed further in Section III.E below. Student #7, an alumna from the 1970s, reported that on a SCUBA trip to Miyake during high school, she awoke to find Moyer fondling her legs and kissing and sucking on her toes. She reported that she wrote about the incident in her journal and that Moyer went through her belongings, found the journal, asked her to tear up the pages, and told her that he would not do it again. She reports that she believed it was an isolated incident and did not tell anyone about it for many years until later telling her spouse. Student #8 reports that Moyer fondled her breasts and genitals during a trip to the Miura Peninsula when she was a middle school student in She believes that this trip may have been a School field trip. She also reports that she visited Miyake for an open dive trip at the end of her SCUBA class, before the trip to the Miura Peninsula. She reports that on one occasion during the dive trip, Moyer was being huggy and his arm fell and brushed across her breast. She said that there were other girls present, that the girls told her that happens with [Moyer], and that she shrugged it off. 3 Student #8 told us that she never told anyone about Moyer s abuse out of fear and shame. Student #8 also notes that, in 1975, she visited Moyer s home with another friend and saw something that made her think that Moyer was living with a high school girl, whom she now believes was Student #4. Student #9 reports that when she was a high school student in , Moyer invited her to his home near campus to console her about a grade she had received. She reports that he told her to lie down and then proceeded to fondle her genitals. She reports that she visited Miyake at Moyer s invitation later that school year, and that Moyer touched her genitals and made her touch his genitals. Student #9 also reports that when she was in middle school, several years prior, she was on a crowded train standing next to Moyer when she felt a hand move up her leg and touch her crotch; she said that at the time she did not think that the person who touched her was Moyer, but now she is certain that it was him. Student #9 stated that she did not tell anyone about what had happened to her with Moyer for a variety of reasons. 3 Student #6 reports witnessing the incident where Moyer touched Student #8 s breast, although Student #6 remembers the incident occurring in Moyer s classroom. 8

13 Student #10 reports that, in the summer of 1977, while she was a high school student, she lived at Moyer s home on Miyake while she worked at his research lab. Student #10 reports that on several occasions that summer Moyer fondled her breasts and genitals, and may have also performed oral sex on her on one occasion. As discussed in Section III below, Student #10 reports that she and her father informed the Principal at the time, and several of Student #10 s classmates have provided further information about this account. Student #11 reports that, in the beginning of 1977 when she was a middle school student, she was at Moyer s home near the ASIJ campus when he hugged and kissed her and placed her hand over his clothes on top of his erect penis. She reports that she visited Moyer at his home several times during and and that they performed oral sex on one another. She also reports that she and Moyer met at a hotel in 1979, when she was in high school, and that they performed oral sex on one another. Student #11 told us that she thought that she and Moyer were in a loving relationship and that she did not tell anyone at ASIJ about her relationship with Moyer. Student #12 described meeting Moyer in middle school and working with him to conduct science experiments. She reports that, in high school, she started to see Moyer outside of school when she began helping him to take care of his dogs. She reports that, in the fall of 1977, Moyer raped her at his home near campus. She reports that she and Moyer had sexual intercourse hundreds of times during her time as a high school student and after graduation until she left Japan in the early 1980s. She reports that she lived with Moyer for a period after she graduated from ASIJ. She also reports that Moyer gave her a key to his house when she was still in high school. While Student #12 told us that she did not tell anyone about what happened to her with Moyer, former faculty and alumni told us that it was known among faculty, administration, and students at the time that Student #12 was living with Moyer after she graduated, as is discussed further in Section III.C. Student #12 reports that after she left Japan to attend graduate school, Moyer followed her, attempted to commit suicide in her apartment when she broke off their relationship, and was hospitalized. These events are also discussed further in Section III.C below. Student #13 told investigators that when she was in middle school sometime between 1977 and 1979, Moyer placed his hands on her legs and rubbed them up and down her thighs while she was seated next to his desk in his classroom at ASIJ. Student #13 reports that she was embarrassed and did not tell anyone about this experience. 9

14 s Student #14 reports that she visited Miyake on a summer trip in 1982 when she was in middle school. She reports that on this trip, Moyer gave her alcohol, forced her to perform oral sex on him, then performed oral sex on her and raped her. Student #14 stated that, at the time, she did not tell anyone about her experience with Moyer, although as discussed in Section III.E below, Student #14 sent a letter about Moyer to the current Head of School and current Board Chair in November A former student reported to investigators that she went on a trip to Miyake with two friends and Moyer sometime in , when she was in high school at ASIJ. The student reported that Moyer asked her and her friends not to tell their families that they would be at Miyake. She told investigators that she and another friend saw Moyer sleeping with their third friend, who was not named and whom we have not been able to identify. She stated that she and her friend felt that they could not tell their parents or teachers about what they had seen and therefore kept it a secret. In a written statement, Student #15 reports that she visited Miyake for about a week with a friend at Moyer s invitation in the summer of 1983 when she was in middle school. She reports a vague memory of Moyer stroking her feet and perhaps her back on one evening while on Miyake that summer. Student #15 reports that Student #12, who had already graduated from ASIJ, was also on the island and working at Moyer s lab. She further reports that in the fall of 1983, two university students who had also been working in Moyer s lab in the summer of 1983 called her and told her that she should be careful around Moyer. She reports that Moyer became very angry after she told Moyer about her conversation with the university students, and she stated that she never spoke to him again. Student #15 reports that she did not discuss her fight with Moyer with friends at the time for obvious reasons, noting that [e]verybody loved Moyer. Student #16 reports that she went to visit Moyer by herself on Miyake during the summer of 1985, when she was in high school, to learn how to SCUBA dive. She reports that on the first night of the trip, Moyer had her lie down and massaged her back under her shirt while straddling her. She said that, as he got closer to the edges of her breasts, she pulled her arms close to her body and he stopped the massage. Student #16 told us that, for a variety of reasons, she did not tell anyone about her experience with Moyer until 2014 when she read an article about Moyer in The Japan Times. Student #17 reports that Moyer attempted to rape her while on Miyake in the spring of 1986, when she was a high school student who was suspended from ASIJ. 10

15 She told investigators that the attempted rape took place at night, that she pushed Moyer off of her, and that she ran and hid outside until morning when she left the island. As discussed in Section III.C below, Student #17 reports that she informed the High School Principal at the time. Student #18 reports that she visited Miyake with friends in the summer of 1986 when she was a middle school student. She reports that Moyer fondled her breasts, genitals, and buttocks each night during the trip. As discussed in Section III.C below, Student #18 s mother and brother report that sometime during the school year and again in 1994 they contacted the School about the abuse of Student #18. In addition to the reports discussed in Sections II.C.1 through II.C.3 above, several individuals told us that Moyer created opportunities to see students outside of school, by inviting them to help him walk his dogs in the neighborhood by his home near the ASIJ campus, or by taking students out to dinner or on other social outings. Several individuals also reported to us that Moyer had favorite female students, to whom he referred as gucci. Several students reported that Moyer bought them gifts, such as prescription SCUBA goggles. We also received other first- and second-hand reports from alumni and faculty members that Moyer was openly touchy with female students and engaged in inappropriate boundary-crossing behavior, including giving students foot rubs or back massages during the Miyake Program and at other times. We also note that several individuals interviewed expressed concern for Japanese students with whom Moyer reportedly continued to work in the years before he committed suicide. The investigation did not uncover any specific reports of abuse of non- ASIJ affiliated individuals by Moyer. However, in our assessment, given the volume of alleged misconduct reported to us in this investigation, it is certainly possible that Moyer s abuse of children extended beyond the ASIJ community. III. ASIJ ADMINISTRATION S RESPONSE TO REPORTS OF MOYER S MISCONDUCT As noted above, the majority of the women who came forward during our investigation reported that they did not tell anyone about the abuse at the time. Many told us that their silence was due in part to feelings of fear, shame, or embarrassment, which, in our experience, is not uncommon. However, some individuals informed investigators that they made reports about Moyer to the School at or near the time of the alleged abuse. Where possible, we provided those to whom reports were allegedly made the opportunity to respond, and also have examined documentation pertaining to the reports, where available. As discussed in more detail below, we found very little, if any, contemporaneous documentation of the reports in School files or otherwise, especially concerning the earlier alleged reports. We address these alleged reports in chronological fashion below. 11

16 A. 1960s A former ASIJ staff member informed investigators that, in the summer of 1967, a rising 12th grade student reported to the staff member and another faculty member that Moyer had been openly holding hands with another 12th grade female student on Miyake that summer. The faculty member is now deceased. 4 As reported to investigators, the faculty member contacted the Head of School at the time ( Head of School #1 ) who suggested that Moyer receive counseling, and the faculty member reportedly suggested that Moyer be counseled by an ASIJ parent who was also a missionary ( the Parent ). The staff member believed, but did not have firsthand knowledge, that the counseling took place. We did not find any documentation regarding this incident in the School s files. The Parent who was reportedly asked to counsel Moyer did not recall the above incident or request. The Parent did recall speaking to Moyer on a separate occasion in 1968 after his daughter expressed concern for Moyer. According to the Parent, during his 1968 meeting with Moyer, they discussed Moyer s anxiety over Moyer s wife s return to Japan. The Parent told investigators that he did not mention his conversation with Moyer to anyone at ASIJ. The Parent also told investigators that he had occasion to observe Moyer interact with students, and both the Parent and his wife told investigators that they never saw Moyer behave inappropriately. Their daughter added further information concerning this series of events. She told investigators that she visited Miyake in 1968, with several of her classmates. She reported that one of her classmates told the other girls that Moyer had tried to get into her bed at night during the trip, and so the girls on the trip decided that they would take turns staying awake at night to make sure that Moyer would not try anything. She said that she may have talked to Moyer about what her classmate had said and that Moyer told her that he did not have anyone to talk to about his problem. She told investigators that she told Moyer that he could speak to her father, who was a missionary, and she asked her father (the Parent, above) to come to the island to speak to Moyer. She reported that her father came to Miyake at the end of her trip, after the other students had left. She did not recall whether she told her father what her classmate had told her about Moyer s behavior. For his part, her father (the Parent, above) told investigators that his daughter had told him that Moyer was going through a difficult time, and that her concern was for Moyer, not for any of the other students. 4 This faculty member went on to become Head of School #3. 12

17 B. 1970s We note from our review of personnel files that Moyer s teacher evaluation dated April 23, 1973 stated that Moyer had excellent relationships with young students. Handles them with ease and genuinely tries to emphasize [sic] with all. Has deep feeling for the welfare of students. May become too emotionally involved at times. Moyer s teacher evaluation dated April 16, 1974 reports that Moyer [h]andles students with ease and in a fair and just way. Deals with them on an equal basis never talking down to anyone. Genuinely likes young people and willingly forgoes his own pleasures for their benefit. Understands the youth of today and worries as he empathizes. Appears to be a little less emotional where students are concerns [sic] and maybe more cool and logical in approaching their problems. Both evaluations are signed by the Principal at the time, ( Principal #1 ) who is deceased. During the investigation, a former teacher reported that, in 1974 or 1975, he walked into Moyer s classroom to find a 7th grade girl sitting on Moyer s lap with her hand around Moyer s neck and his hand on her stomach. The teacher reported to investigators that he informed Principal #1, and was told by Principal #1 something to the effect of that s just Jack being Jack and that the Principal would take care of it. We did not find any documentation regarding this incident in the School s files. The teacher told investigators that he mentioned the incident to another faculty member at the time, that both he and the faculty member thought the incident was weird, and that neither of them said anything else about it. Ropes & Gray was unable to interview Principal #1, who is deceased. A former student ( Classmate #1 ) reported in a written statement submitted during the investigation that, in early 1975, when she was in middle school at ASIJ, she was called into a guidance counselor s office and questioned about other students at ASIJ who were allegedly smoking marijuana. She reports that she asked the counselor why [the counselor] wasn t concerned about much more important things like Jack Moyer. She stated that the counselor asked what she meant, and she told him that Moyer was sexually touching and bothering girls at ASIJ. The counselor told investigators that he recalled the former student, but had no recollection of any conversation with her about marijuana or about Moyer. The counselor told us that he did not recall ever having a conversation with any student regarding misconduct involving Moyer. We did not find any documentation regarding this incident in the School s files. Student #4 told investigators that, while she was living with Moyer in 1975, her math teacher (whose name she could not recall) visited Moyer s home and knew 13

18 that she was living there. She reported that she and the teacher chatted for a few minutes before the teacher left. As mentioned above, Student #10 and her father told investigators that, in the fall of 1977, they informed the Principal ( Principal #2 ) about inappropriate behavior by Moyer. Student #10 s father reported that Student #10 told him that Moyer had made repeated improper advances to her while she was living on Miyake that summer. The father met with Principal #2 and told him that physical contact was involved in Moyer s advances, although he was unsure of exactly what the contact was. Student #10 told us that she too met with Principal #2. Though she could not recall the exact wording of Principal #2 s questions or of her responses, she said that she remembered Principal #2 wanted to know whether Moyer had had sexual intercourse with her and she told him that he had not. She believed that she used a word like groping to describe what Moyer had done, and signaled to Principal #2 with her hands where on her body Moyer had touched her, indicating her breasts and genitals. She stated that when she spoke to Principal #2 there was zero doubt in her mind that Principal #2 knew how serious Moyer s conduct was, and that Principal #2 knew that Moyer had touched her on her breasts and her genitals. She and her father both reported that Principal #2 informed them that he would look into the matter and take action. During our investigation, a classmate of Student #10 ( Classmate #2 ) reported that during the school year, he informed Principal #2 that Moyer had done something sexually improper to Student #10, and that he stood up for Student #10 when other students were picking on her. Classmate #2 also reported that, in 1977 or 1978, he informed the mother of an ASIJ student who worked at the School library at the time that Moyer had been sexually inappropriate with Student #10. The mother of the ASIJ student does not recall ever receiving a report about Moyer. Another classmate of Student #10 s ( Classmate #3 ) told us that she knew at the time that Student #10 had spoken to Principal #2 about Moyer. Classmate #3 reports that, in 1977 or 1978, Student #10 told her that Moyer had been sexually inappropriate with her. Classmate #3 recalled seeing Student #10 and her parents at school, and recalled Student #10 telling her that they had met with Principal #2 to report on what had occurred with Moyer. Classmate #3 said that Student #10 told her at the time that Principal #2 told her and her parents that the School would take care of it. Classmate #3 told investigators that she believed that several other classmates were aware that Student #10 had reported on Moyer to Principal #2 at the time. Principal #2 told investigators that he could not recall Student #10 and her father coming to see him about Moyer or alerting him to any sexual misconduct. Principal 14

19 #2 reported to investigators that he believed if he had been alerted to any abuse or misconduct by Moyer against Student #10, he would have acted on that information. He told investigators that if a report had been made to him that involved the word groping, he would have followed up with the Head of School. Principal #2 also told us that he did not recall receiving any report by Classmate #2 about Student #10 or Moyer. We did not find any documentation in the School s files regarding reports by Student #10, her father, or Classmate #2. Principal #2, who was also Principal while Student #12 attended ASIJ, told investigators that, in the late 1970s, he was concerned that Student #12 was getting too close to Moyer. Principal #2 told investigators that he did not believe anything sexual was happening between Moyer and Student #12 but that he had noticed, and other students and teachers had commented to him, how much time Student #12 spent with Moyer. Principal #2 reported that he spoke to the Head of School at the time ( Head of School #3 ) about it, and Head of School #3 told him that he would speak to Student #12 s parents. Principal #2 further reported that Head of School #3 told him that there was nothing the School could do because Student #12 would be graduating and was spending time on Miyake with Moyer with her parents permission. Head of School #3 is now deceased. We did not find any documentation in the School s files regarding the above incident. In a written statement, Classmate #1 (discussed above) reports that she told Principal #2 in the spring of 1978 that Moyer had been sexually abusing ASIJ students and that she was concerned he was doing the same to Student #12 because Classmate #1 had observed Moyer and Student #12 spending time together. Classmate #1 was in high school at the time. She stated that Principal #2 told her that he would look into it. Classmate #1 reports that later that spring, she and a friend who was also an ASIJ student ( Classmate #4 ) saw Moyer receiving oral sex from Student #12 on a golf course near the School. Classmate #1 reports that she told Principal #2 what she saw and that Principal #2 told her to tell Student #12 to speak to him. She reports that she did not speak to Student #12. Classmate #4 provided a statement reporting that she and Classmate #1 had seen Moyer receiving oral sex from Student #12 on the golf course, and noting that, to the best of her knowledge, Classmate #1 reported what they had observed to someone at the School. When interviewed, Principal #2 did not recall a conversation with Classmate #1 about Moyer or the report concerning the golf course incident, and told investigators that he would have acted on such information. 15

20 Classmate #1 reports that, approximately a week after she spoke to Principal #2, she saw Student #12 and Moyer together again. She stated that she went to Head of School #3, told him what she had observed between Student #12 and Moyer on the golf course, and told him that she had previously reported this to Principal #2. She stated that she also told Head of School #3 the names of other girls whom she believed Moyer had sexually abused. She stated that Head of School #3 yelled at her and told her that she was walking a thin line. She reports that she left Head of School #3 s office and avoided him thereafter. We were unable to interview Head of School #3, who is deceased. We found no documentation regarding Classmate #1 s report to Principal #2 or Head of School #3 in the School s files. As mentioned above, Student #5 and her husband report that they wrote two letters sometime during or shortly after the spring of 1979 to notify Principal #2 that Moyer had sexually abused Student #5 while she was a student at ASIJ in the mid- 1970s. Student #5 and her husband reported that Principal #2 responded to their letters noting that he had confronted Moyer, that changes would be made, and that he had heard similar allegations from another student. Neither Student #5 nor the School was able to locate copies of these letters. For his part, Principal #2 told investigators that he recalled receiving a letter from Student #5, but described the letter as vague and not explicit. 5 Principal #2 reported that Student #5 did not want her name involved and did not make it clear that any molestation had occurred, but rather he was left with the impression that Moyer had hit on her. Principal #2 allegedly reported what Student #5 said to two former Heads of School, Head of School #2 and Head of School #3, both of whom are now deceased. Principal #2 reports that Head of School #3 told him that he would take care of the issue. We were unable to interview either Head of School #2 or Head of School #3, and we found no contemporaneous documentation regarding this report. A former faculty member provided further information about this report, informing investigators that during a social outing with Principal #2 in 2012, Principal #2 informed the faculty member that Principal #2 had received a report of Moyer s abuse from Student #5 and had informed the Head of School at the time of the report. The faculty member stated that Principal #2 expressed regret that he [i.e., Principal #2] had not followed up more with the information. Another former faculty member told us that he witnessed Moyer rubbing the shoulders and massaging the backs of female students in school during the late 5 In 2003, Principal #2 wrote an to a then faculty member stating that Student #5 had told him that she wrote to him about Moyer but that he did not recall the incident. 16

21 1970s. We saw no evidence that the former faculty member documented or otherwise reported his observations to anyone. Principal #2 reports in a 2014 online post that during his tenure at ASIJ, most of which was in the mid-to late-1970s, some students and parents spoke to him about Moyer s motives in craving attention, using terms like creepy, scary, pushy, and too friendly[.] Principal #2 reports that he took these comments to Head of School #2, who is now deceased, and was told something to the effect of [it] is just Jack being Jack. Principal #2 stated that he did not believe from these conversations that Moyer s activities included physical sexual abuse. He stated that he confronted Moyer about these conversations and warned Moyer to be more professional in his dealings with students. We found no documentation in the School s files regarding the comments made to Principal #2 about Moyer or about the Principal s confrontation of or warning to Moyer. C. 1980s We received a report from an alumna from the Class of 1980 that in 1980, two of her friends who were also ASIJ students saw Moyer receiving oral sex from Student #12 on a golf course near the School and that one of her friends reported this information to Principal #2 at the time. The alumna s two friends, Classmate #1 and Classmate #4, discussed above, submitted statements about this incident, except that Classmate #1 and Classmate #4 recall the incident occurring in A former staff member reported that she and others at the School were aware that Student #12 had moved in with Moyer, but told investigators that the School did not have any control because Student #12 had already graduated at the time. A former teacher told investigators that in the summer of 1981 or 1982 (after Student #12 had graduated from ASIJ), he dropped by Moyer s house to deliver Moyer s mail when Student #12 answered the door in a T-shirt and underwear, and looked like she had just woken up. The teacher told us that he recalled later hearing that Moyer and Student #12 worked together on Miyake. As discussed above, Principal #2 told us that he had concerns about Student #12 s relationship with Moyer in the 1970s. He reports that in the early 1980s, after he left ASIJ, Student #12 admitted to him that she and Moyer had been romantically involved. Principal #2 told investigators that Student #12 told him that Moyer was suicidal and in a mental hospital at a university in the United States because 17

22 Student #12 had broken up with him. 6 Principal #2 reports that he did not reach out to anyone at ASIJ after this conversation with Student #12. From our investigation, neither this conversation nor comments from other teachers or students regarding Moyer s relationship with Student #12 were documented in the School s files. An alumnus from the 1970s reported in a statement that, in 1985, he asked a development officer for the School at the time, How can ASIJ continue to employ a known pedophile? According to the alumnus statement, when he was a student at ASIJ he and his group of friends often called Moyer a pedophile and there were lots of rumors among the students about [Moyer s] conduct with the girls [at ASIJ]. He reports that he informed the development officer that, during his junior year, Student #10 told him that Moyer had come on to her ; that in 1979 he had observed Moyer and Student #12 walk to Moyer s home at night after purchasing liquor and leave Moyer s home together the following morning; and that, while he was a student, his circle of friends believed Moyer was having intercourse with students. When interviewed, the development officer stated that he did not recall this conversation and stated that he never received a report about sexual abuse by anyone, including Moyer, during his time at ASIJ. We did not find any documentation in the School s files regarding this incident. As mentioned above, Student #17 reports that in the late spring of 1986, she told the High School Principal at the time, ( Principal #3 ) that Moyer had sexually come on to her. She reported that Principal #3 stated that he had heard similar information about Moyer in the past and that he would speak with Moyer. Student #17 reported that Principal #3 told her to keep the information to herself. When interviewed, Principal #3 was adamant that he never received any complaint from a student or parent about sexual misconduct by Moyer. We did not find any documentation in the School s files regarding this incident. As mentioned above, Student #18 s brother and mother report that, sometime during the school year, they contacted the School about Moyer s abuse of Student #18. Student #18 s mother reported that she contacted a teacher, and that the teacher referred her to the school nurse. Student #18 s mother reportedly arranged a meeting with the school nurse that was canceled. Student #18 s mother then reportedly spoke with the Head of School at the time, Head of School #3. She stated that she told Head of School #3 that Jack Moyer had been sexually inappropriate with [her] daughter, and told him that Moyer should have no more 6 As discussed above, Student #12 told investigators that Moyer followed her after she left Japan, and that when she broke off their relationship, Moyer attempted to commit suicide in her apartment and was hospitalized. 18

23 contact with her daughter or with any other girls. Student #18 s mother reported that Head of School #3 told her he would look into the matter. Moyer reportedly ceased contact with Student #18 after her mother spoke to Head of School #3. Student #18 s brother reported that he wrote a letter to Head of School #3 in 1987 concerning the abuse suffered by his sister and requesting that the School end Moyer s involvement with the Miyake Program. Student #18 s brother reported that he received no response to this letter. We found no contemporaneous documentation concerning these reports in the School s files, but as discussed below, Student #18 s mother and brother wrote letters to the Head of School in 1994 about their earlier reports (i.e., in ). The teacher who allegedly referred Student #18 s mother to the school nurse did not recall ever receiving a report about Moyer from a parent or a student. The school nurse likewise did not recall any such report or complaint. Ropes & Gray was unable to interview Head of School #3, who is deceased. D. 1990s A former ASIJ faculty member who served as a faculty chaperone during the 7th grade Miyake Program told investigators that he witnessed Moyer touching and hugging female students while on a Miyake Program trip in He reported that he and some other teachers told the former Middle School Principal ( Middle School Principal #2 ) that the Principal should look into it. The faculty member reported that he was not aware of what Middle School Principal #2 did after the teachers raised Moyer s conduct with her but believes that she followed up. Middle School Principal #2 told investigators that she never received any reports of sexual misconduct by Moyer during her tenure at ASIJ and that no one raised any concerns about Moyer being inappropriate or creepy or anything else that might have been of concern, even in retrospect. She reported that at most, she may have heard a rumor regarding Moyer that involved inappropriate interactions with girls and that it was her impression at the time that the students involved were high school students. Middle School Principal #2 told investigators that she spoke to the Head of School at the time, Head of School #3, (who is now deceased) about the rumor. While she could not recall his exact response, she reported that Head of School #3 informed her that the rumor was unsubstantiated and that she need not worry about it. We found nothing in Moyer s personnel file or other School documents regarding these rumors or the above faculty member s report. Student #1 reported that, in 1990, she informed members of a reunion committee for ASIJ classes from the 1970s that she had been sexually abused by Moyer, and asked that the committee withdraw Moyer s nomination for a reunion award for 19

24 favorite teacher. Three reunion organizers, all ASIJ alumnae, provided additional information about Student #1 s account. One of the reunion organizers reported that she and another of the organizers met with the Head of School, Head of School #3, and that Head of School #3 allegedly responded to the effect of, I thought this was all laid to rest already. The second reunion organizer reported that Head of School #3 did not appear surprised that a former student had objected to Moyer being honored. The reunion organizers reported that Head of School #3 agreed to change the recipient of the award. We have seen no contemporaneous reports of these conversations with Head of School #3; nor could we interview Head of School #3 as he is deceased. However, as discussed below, Student #1 corresponded with the Head of School in 2000 ( Head of School #4 ) regarding, among other things, her 1990 report to reunion organizers. An ASIJ alumna from the Class of 1973 ( 1973 alumna ) told investigators that she heard about Moyer s abuse at a gathering with other ASIJ alumni sometime prior to The 1973 alumna reports that she called the Head of School, Head of School #3, who is now deceased, to report what she had learned. She reported that Head of School #3 responded, Don t you know [Moyer] is happily married with children? She reported that Head of School #3 stated that Moyer was never left alone with children on Miyake. The 1973 alumna reported that she did not receive any further follow-up from Head of School #3 or anyone else at ASIJ. However, she ed the subsequent Head of School, Head of School #4, at some point during his tenure ( ) to inform him that she had learned of Moyer s abuse at an informal reunion with friends who were also ASIJ alumni from the early 1970s. We have obtained a copy of the ; however, the copy that we obtained is undated and we were unable to confirm the date that the was sent to Head of School #4. In the , the 1973 alumna expressed concern to Head of School #4 about the Miyake Program, stated that she had already spoken with the Head of School #3, and requested that Head of School #4 contact her. Head of School #4 stated that he did not recall receiving correspondence from the 1973 alumna, but said that he imagined he would have discussed her request to end the Miyake Program with others at the School. In 1994, Student #18 s brother and mother wrote letters to Head of School #4 informing him that Student #18 had been molested by Moyer in 1986 and that Student #18 s mother had reported it to Head of School #3 and a teacher. According to Head of School #4 s letter in response, he investigated their allegations but found nothing to substantiate them, either in Moyer s personnel file or in his interviews with Head of School #3 and the teacher named in their letters, or in an interview with the former Middle School Principal ( Middle School Principal #1 ) at the time of the alleged original report (1986). We have obtained 20

25 copies of this 1994 correspondence, and a review by investigators of Moyer s personnel file supports Head of School #4 s statement that it contained no prior documentation of allegations of sexual misconduct. Head of School #4 offered to reopen the investigation if Student #18 s family could provide additional evidence. Head of School #4 told investigators that upon receiving the letter about Student #18, he conferred with a number of people, including the individuals suggested in the letter to have spoken to Student #18 s mother about the abuse, but that they did not recall ever hearing any allegations concerning Moyer. Middle School Principal #1 told investigators that he recalled Head of School #4 calling him some time after 1991 (after he had left ASIJ) and asking whether anyone had ever expressed concerns to him about Moyer s relationships with girls. Middle School Principal #1 reports that he told Head of School #4 that no one had raised any such concerns with him. The teacher mentioned above told investigators that several years after she left ASIJ, Head of School #4 called her and told her that Student #18 had contacted the School and reported that she had told the teacher what had happened between Student #18 and Moyer. The teacher reported that she told Head of School #4 that she did not recall any such conversation regarding Student #18. A former teacher reported to investigators that, at some point in 1993 or 1994, Head of School #4 told her that she should be careful in her interactions with Moyer during field trips to Miyake and that she should not be alone with him or allow her students to be alone with him. She told us that no further explanation was provided. Head of School #4 did not recall this conversation, but stated that he may have wanted to take extra precautions after receiving the letter from Student #18 s brother. As discussed above, the 1973 alumna ed Head of School #4 sometime during his tenure to inform him that she had learned of Moyer s abuse at an informal ASIJ reunion with other alumna from the 1970s. It is not clear when the 1973 alumna s (which was undated) was received by Head of School #4 vis-à-vis the letters from Student #18 s brother and mother. Head of School #4 told investigators that he recalled receiving a second report of allegations concerning Moyer after the letter from Student #18 s brother, sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s. He could not recall from whom he had received this communication, nor did he have a copy of the correspondence, but he believed that it asked the School to stop the Miyake Program. Head of School #4 reports that after receiving this second report, he told the Middle School Principal ( Middle School Principal #3 ) about the report and about the prior report from Student #18 s brother. As discussed below, in 2000, Middle School Principal #3 and another School administrator met with Moyer to end Moyer s consultancy with ASIJ. 21

26 E to Present The Miyake volcano erupted in the summer of 2000, and Moyer left the island. In response to the destruction on Miyake caused by the volcanic eruption, some ASIJ alumni began raising money to assist Moyer. After Student #1 received a solicitation for donations from an ASIJ alumna on Moyer s behalf, Student #1 ed Head of School #4, reporting that she had been sexually abused by Moyer in the 1970s, knew of one other person who had been subjected to abuse by Moyer, and feared that there were others. We have obtained and reviewed a copy of this , which is summarized here in pertinent part. Student #1 told Head of School #4 about her report to reunion organizers in 1990, stated that she was under the impression that individuals in the School administration and the alumni office were aware of her 1990 report, and that she did not feel the need to report the situation further at that time. Student #1 was dismayed to receive the solicitation for donations in light of this history. She stated that she did not have any desire to bring this out in the open and broadcast this contemptuous behavior to, in any way, harm the school. However, [she did] believe that ASIJ [had] a responsibility to make sure it [did] nothing further to promote or support this man [Moyer]. As discussed above, Head of School #4 told Middle School Principal #3 about a second allegation that he had received regarding Moyer. Head of School #4 told investigators that by the time he received this report (which we believe to be the from Student #1), the School was already considering ending the Miyake Program due to concerns regarding the quality of the program relative to its costs. Head of School #4 could not recall whether the decision to end the Miyake Program had been made before or after he received this report. In October 2000, an ASIJ administrator and Middle School Principal #3 met with Moyer to inform him of the allegations and to terminate Moyer s employment as a consultant. At the meeting, Moyer reportedly admitted that he made many mistakes of which he was not proud. As reported during our interviews, the administrators did not press the issue and did not further address, investigate, document, or report the allegations to law enforcement at the time. In 2003, Student #1 discovered a book entitled The American School in Japan: A History of Our First Century (the centennial book ) at an ASIJ reunion in California. Student #1 and a fellow ASIJ alumna from the 1970s ( 1970s alumna ) were angered that the centennial book contained a chapter about Moyer and Miyake that appeared to elevate Moyer s status. They subsequently corresponded with Head of School #5 and other administrators, discussing Student #1 s prior reports to the reunion organizers in 1990 and Head of School in 2000 regarding Moyer s abuse, and requesting that all centennial books be removed from 22

27 circulation and destroyed in light of Moyer s misconduct. Student #1 and the 1970s alumna also expressed their concern to the School that Moyer was reportedly continuing to work with Japanese children, and the School put them in touch with Moyer. Through a series of s exchanged in the fall of 2003 through January 2004, they confronted Moyer about his abuse of students and threatened to report him to the authorities if he did not stop working with children. Moyer committed suicide in January An administrator at the School told investigators that, in response to inquiries from Student #1 and the 1970s alumna leading up to and after Moyer s suicide, in 2003 he made a report about Moyer to local law enforcement. On February 8, 2004, Student #1 and the 1970s alumna discussed above wrote an that was later forwarded to Head of School #5 and the Board Chair at the time. In their , Student #1 and the 1970s alumna state that they had both been subjected to sexual abuse in some fashion or another by [Moyer]. 7 They summarized the actions they had taken in the previous six to eight months, including: confronting Moyer in writing; connecting with others who had been sexually abused by Moyer; communicating with School administration regarding the School s student protection policies; and consulting with the Tokyo English Lifeline agency. They stated that their goals were: to make sure children (including [Moyer s] own) were safe from him ; to give [Moyer s] other victims information and support ; to make sure that ASIJ implemented policy to protect present and future children from abuse ; and to make sure ASIJ was a place [they] could return to without having to face [their] past abuse over and over again. They wrote that [d]uring this time we were able to accomplish these goals and noted that they were in ongoing communication with the school s new administration and received compassion, support and a desire from them to work with us. As discussed below, in 2005, the 1970s alumna wrote to Head of School #5 requesting what steps the School had taken to address student protection, and, in 2009, Student #1 began writing a blog about her experience with Moyer. In February of 2004, Head of School #5 informed the Board Chair at the time and the Elementary School Principal that he had spoken to Student #1 and that they had reached closure. According to Head of School #5, Student #1 told him that she is tired and does not want to pursue this any more. He reported that Student #1 was pleased with the way the administration had handled the matter, that her objectives had been fulfilled, that the school had been made safer for children, and 7 OC&C informed us that the 1970s alumna did not wish to speak with investigators at this time. We therefore have not obtained any further information directly from the 1970s alumna about any abuse she may have suffered. 23

28 she believed that there had been some healing among the victims and hoped that more healing would occur in time. In 2004, the School removed references to Moyer in School web pages, archives, and a middle school service award, and adopted a new sexual harassment policy. In February 2004, meeting minutes from the Board s Personnel and Policy Committee stated: A former ASIJ faculty member who taught here in the 1960 s and 1970 s sexually abused several students during his tenure here. This took place during school related events but not at school. ASIJ has pledged to update our policies so that this will never happen again. The issue is how to write a policy that affects faculty and students outside of school.... The new [sexual harassment] policy would become a part of faculty and student handbooks as well as our personnel policies. In a March 2004 report to the Board of Directors, Head of School #5 wrote that he had a very successful series of meetings with alumni focus groups around the USA. The Jack Moyer case was brought up in discussion at three of the five meetings. He also stated that he met with Student #1 at one alumni meeting and had a good face to face chat with her in which we both agreed that we were pleased to have this issue behind us. She is ready to move on, as her letter testified. He further wrote that faculty continue to ask us about the rumors that they have heard about Moyer, and we have decided to read them a statement at their next faculty meeting... which will be succinct, give few details, but will hopefully give them enough information to settle the rumors. While the issue is not completely resolved, I hope that we are in the latter stages. With the Personnel/Policy Committee, we will do a thorough review of our policies and procedures that relate to sexual harassment, and we should have new policies for Board consideration at our next meeting. Time will hopefully continue to heal with this vexing issue. We were unable to confirm whether a statement was presented at the faculty meeting as mentioned in Head of School #5 s report to the Board. In January 2005, the 1970s alumna discussed above ed Head of School #5, asking what steps the School had taken to specifically address this terrible abuse of students that took place under its auspices for so many years. The 1970s alumna also asked whether copies of the [centennial book] were destroyed because of information contained in it about [Moyer][.] Head of School #5 responded by shortly thereafter noting that the previous year he had sent the 1970s alumna a copy of the School s health education on sexual abuse and pedophilia, and he offered to further discuss with the alumna ASIJ s current efforts in this area. Head of School #5 told investigators that he believes he told the current Head of School his immediate successor about Moyer before the current Head of School 24

29 started at ASIJ in Head of School #5 also believed that he left a file concerning the Moyer matter in his office. The current Head of School told investigators that he reviewed the previous five years Board meeting minutes before starting at ASIJ to familiarize himself with recent issues. The current Head of School reports that he did not receive any documents related to Moyer from Head of School #5, and did not recall any mention of Moyer in his review of the previous five years Board meeting minutes. In 2009, Student #1 began writing a blog which, among other things, discussed in detail her experience at ASIJ including her experiences with Moyer. She informed investigators that she wrote her blog from 2009 to 2011, and was contacted by others in the ASIJ community about the blog. In December 2011, the 1960s alumnus discussed in Section II.C.2 above sent a letter to the then Chairman of the ASIJ Board calling attention to Student #1 s blog and seeking greater transparency about the School s knowledge of and response to Moyer s abuse. The current Head of School responded to the 1960s alumnus letter in February of 2012, noting that the Board Chair had received the alumnus letter and that the current Head of School had reviewed the School s files. The current Head of School noted the presence of a letter in the School s files from the then Board Chair in 2004 to Student #1, which stated: It is has been our intent to deal with the issues in a straight-forward manner while protecting the privacy and sensitivities of the individual victim. The Head of School thanked the 1960s alumnus for his letter and noted that [a]s a school, we recognize the issues brought to light by the recent events at Penn State and Syracuse, and we continue to monitor, through practice and policy, vigilance to provide an appropriate level of education, protection, and proactive measures to insure the safety of our students. The 1960s alumnus subsequently sent another letter to the then and current Board Chair in November 2012, asking the School to deal with [the Moyer matter] publicly. In November 2013, the current Head of School and the current Board Chair received a letter from Student #14 alleging abuse by Moyer and requesting that the School go public about Moyer s abuse and locate and provide assistance to victims, both former ASIJ students and Japanese victims, if any. The current Head of School and Board Chair informed investigators that they realized the School needed to address the issue in a public way and attempt to offer support to victims. The Board held an emergency meeting in December 2013 regarding the Moyer matter. On March 17, 2014, ASIJ sent an to alumni and community members concerning the allegations against Moyer. Many individuals have reported to us that they believe that the March 17 community letter did not accurately reflect the extent of the School s awareness of prior reports of misconduct by Moyer. Some 25

30 current Board members have reported to us that when the March 17 community letter was sent, they were not informed that some in the current administration had been aware of the Moyer matter since at least December 2011, and that former administration and Board members had prior knowledge dating back further. Other Board members disagree and feel that they were fully informed. The current Deputy Head of School informed us that on March 20, 2014, he reached out to the Chofu police department to discuss the allegations against Moyer. He further reported that on March 28, 2014, he had a meeting with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, arranged by an FBI representative in Tokyo. The Deputy Head of School reported that they discussed the Moyer case, and that the police department offered its support for any future criminal cases. On April 10, 2014, the current Head of School sent a follow-up to parents and alumni addressing the actions the School was taking to ensure the safety of students. He stated that guidelines and procedures were being reviewed and would be shared with the ASIJ community. He also noted that the School would start requiring criminal background checks prior to hiring. In a further update to parents and alumni on May 2, 2014, ASIJ announced that it was working with Keeping Children Safe to review its policies. The School also stated that the Board of Directors had mandated criminal background checks for all employees, both new and existing. During April and May of 2014, at least four alumnae directly contacted members of the ASIJ Board to disclose abuse by Moyer. In June of 2014, the ASIJ Board engaged Ropes & Gray to conduct this investigation. IV. ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING OTHER ASIJ PERSONNEL During the course of our investigation, allegations concerning individuals associated with ASIJ other than Jack Moyer were also brought to our attention. These ranged from allegations of boundary-crossing behaviors, to sexual misconduct, to isolated complaints discussing rumor and speculation. We were not able to corroborate most of these allegations due to a paucity of information, and, to be clear, there were no allegations made concerning abuse of current students, or by current ASIJ faculty. For any report we have received during the investigation concerning ASIJ personnel other than Jack Moyer (including reports merely discussing rumor and speculation), we are providing the Board with the information we have received so that it can be properly documented for the School s files. What follows below is a summary of four particular instances where we received either first-hand accounts and/or a high volume of second-hand reports. We were made aware of one first-hand report of sexual misconduct by a now former faculty member who was dismissed as a result. 26

31 We also received a first-hand allegation from an alumnus that he was preyed upon by a high school teacher in the 1970s. He reports that he told his parents about the teacher s conduct at the time, and that they met with the Principal (who is now deceased). The alumnus did not respond to our request for an interview. The teacher alleged to have engaged in the misconduct left ASIJ in the 1980s. We found no documents at the School discussing this alleged incident or the alleged meeting with the parents of the alumnus, including in the teacher s personnel file. We also received allegations, but no direct reports from alleged victims, about other former faculty who allegedly engaged in behavior ranging from boundary-crossing physical contact to sexual misconduct. There was a high volume of allegations regarding boundary-crossing conduct by a former faculty member from the mid-1980s to early 1990s. More than one former faculty and staff member reported that they informed the Middle School Principal at the time about inappropriate behavior by this individual (e.g., rubbing students backs, having a student sit on his lap, and holding a student s hand). Based on the information we were able to obtain, it appears that the individual was asked to resign. Finally, we received reports that a current ASIJ faculty member engaged in inappropriate behavior prior to his employment at ASIJ. After the faculty member was hired by ASIJ, he was reprimanded by a U.S. state administrative commission for failing to maintain an appropriate student-teacher relationship with a high school student during his prior employment in the late 1990s. The commission found that the faculty member expressed an inappropriate interest in the student s personal life and failed to report to his supervisor that the student had become romantically attached to him. The faculty member at issue has worked at ASIJ for over ten years. No allegations have been made during the faculty member s time at ASIJ or involving ASIJ students. 27

32 V. ASIJ POLICIES AND PROCEDURES A. Historical Policies Based on the interviews conducted and the materials reviewed, it does not appear the School had any specific written policies explicitly addressing sexual abuse until recent years. What follows is a chronological assessment of the development of the School s policies over time. 1. Policies Pre-2004 Until 1964, when the Head of the School at the time created a collection of policies, there was no policy book, student handbook, teachers manual, curriculum syllabus, or work policy for staff. Personnel policies in the decades that followed discussed disciplinary actions and grounds for termination, which included immoral conduct, conduct detrimental to the School, and criminal conduct, but did not expressly discuss sexual abuse. Student and parent handbooks during this period focused on the behavior and discipline of students rather than specific provisions aimed at creating or maintaining safe environments or responding to allegations of abuse. 2. Bolstering of Policies Post-2004 Starting in the school year, the high school student and parent handbook, middle school student and parent handbook, and elementary school student and parent handbook adopted procedures for reporting and handling sexual harassment. These procedures remain in effect today. The revision was in response to reports of alleged abuse by Jack Moyer to the School. Around this time, the School also sponsored an ad hoc workshop for teachers, and an assembly for students, on sexual harassment. Sexual harassment and sexual abuse were themes in the 7th and 8th grade health curricula. The sexual harassment procedures in the student and parent handbooks noted that sexual harassment was illegal in Japan and stated that it was the School s policy that no employee, contract worker, volunteer, or student engage in the sexual harassment of any potential or actual employee, contract worker, volunteer, or student. The procedures provided that, where there was reason to suspect that an employee or student was the victim of sexual harassment, an oral report was to be made to the principal, director of business affairs, or the head of the school immediately. The reporting individual or group would be asked to complete a sexual harassment reporting form and make a written report. The principal or deputy head would, in 28

33 conjunction with the head of school, determine what steps should be taken to investigate the allegations, possibly including the following: meeting with the accused, meeting with the accuser, documenting any accusations, seeking legal consultation, and/or implementing disciplinary action. In November 2012, the Board of Directors added a professional code of conduct to the personnel policies. It specified that sexual harassment or similar activities were grounds for disciplinary action, which could include a verbal or written warning, probation, a salary reduction with written explanation, suspension without pay with written explanation, and disciplinary dismissal. B. Current Student Protection Policies During the school year, ASIJ implemented several changes in its student safety policies and curriculum. It engaged Tokyo English Lifeline (TELL), a nonprofit organization in Japan, to give a presentation to administrators on how to recognize and report abuse. TELL, alongside counselors at the School, gave similar workshops to middle school and high school students, parents of students, and faculty in fall These workshops and trainings are to be administered annually and monitored by a committee called the Student Protection Team. The School also released a new Student Protection Handbook that was largely modeled on a similar policy issued by the Association of International Schools in Africa. A copy of this Handbook is included at Appendix B to this report. Additionally, the School shared a document entitled Student Protection Guidelines Faculty/Staff with alumni and parents in the spring of These guidelines are still in effect as part of the Board of Directors policies. The Student Protection Handbook is detailed and addresses key components of a safe school environment, including policies regarding identifying, reporting, and investigating suspected abuse; guidelines for faculty, staff, and other adults who regularly interact with students; mandatory training on abuse prevention and awareness for faculty and staff; developmentally appropriate student protection curricula for students in grades 1 through 12; training and education for parents; documentation and discipline of faculty and staff who violate the policy; and responding to confirmed cases of sexual abuse, including reporting suspected cases of child abuse to law enforcement as required by Japanese law. As part of its new policies and procedures, ASIJ announced that it would conduct criminal background checks on personnel at the School. School administrators informed investigators that the McDowell Agency, a private investigatory firm in Minneapolis, has conducted criminal background checks on all existing employees and new hires, with the exception of certain outsourced contractors. The School has also reported to us that it has begun to conduct background checks on all adult counselors at the ASIJ Summer Day Camp. 29

34 ASIJ also announced that it is working in conjunction with Keeping Children Safe ( KCS ), an independent child safeguarding organization and consultancy, to review its policies. On March 30, 2015, the School received Level 1 certification from KCS after providing KCS with a completed self-assessment and policy materials for review. Level 1 certification entails KCS s endorsement that the School has developed a safeguarding framework that, when implemented, protects children from harm and, if an incident should occur, the School has the appropriate response mechanism in place. KCS also offers Level 2 certification, which involves an audit to determine that the safeguarding framework is being properly implemented in practice. We were informed by current administration that the School has decided to undergo the KCS Level 2 certification process. Several concerns were also reported to us regarding internal governance and communications to and within the Board, namely when and to what degree the full Board and the School s trustees should be consulted concerning matters relating to allegations of abuse. We have reported these concerns to the Board for its consideration. The Board has acknowledged that recent events have highlighted the need for greater transparency on issues of student protection. We understand that the Board has decided that any matters of a sexual nature should be brought to the attention of the full Board going forward. VI. CONCLUSIONS A. Jack Moyer In light of all of the evidence we have examined, it is apparent to us that Moyer was a serial pedophile who, in our assessment, sexually abused female ASIJ students. As noted above, many of the women who told us about Moyer s misconduct did not report their experience to anyone at ASIJ at the time. Many told us that their silence was due in part to feelings of fear, shame, or embarrassment, which, in our experience, is not uncommon for victims of abuse. Nonetheless, some of the women who agreed to be interviewed reported that they informed ASIJ administrators about the abuse at or near the time it occurred, and some further offered supporting statements of family members and/or former classmates. For the most part, it does not appear that records were 30

35 generated and/or kept at the School concerning these reports. As noted above, we provided those administrators who are still living with the opportunity to respond to these allegations. The administrators either denied the alleged reports, or their recollection differed significantly from that of the reporting individual. We note that these conflicting levels of recollection are difficult to resolve, given, among other things, the lack of contemporaneous or subsequent documentation, the length of time that has passed, and the fact that several past administrators who are alleged to have received reports are deceased. While we cannot resolve these differences in recollection with precision, when considered collectively, the volume of alleged reports suggests that there were warning signals of, at the very least, inappropriate behavior by Moyer over time. From our review of the evidence, including our interviews with current and former board members, administration, faculty, staff, and alumni, it appears that the School s inadequate identification of and reaction to these warnings were caused by a variety of factors, including: (i) a lack of continuity, documentation, and information-sharing from one School administration to the next, (ii) a historical lack of formal policies and protocols for responding to allegations of sexual abuse, (iii) a historical lack of awareness of, or sensitivity to, issues pertaining to child sexual abuse generally, and (iv) cultural norms that treated discussing sexual abuse as taboo. In our assessment, these factors led to missed opportunities to confront Moyer, cease his involvement with the School, report allegations to law enforcement, and conduct outreach to victims. Many members of the current Board have expressed the hope that the commissioning of this report will impart the transparency that members of the ASIJ community have been seeking concerning this difficult time in the School s history. B. Policies, Procedures, and Recommendations ASIJ has made strides toward bolstering its policies and procedures regarding student safety, and currently has in place a detailed Student Protection Policy and Handbook. As part of a committed, continual effort to refine these policies and procedures, we recommend some additional enhancements. While the School has hired a private investigatory firm to conduct criminal background checks on all existing employees, adult counselors at the ASIJ Summer Day Camp, and new hires (with the exception of certain outsourced contractors), we recommend that background checks of current faculty and staff recur on a regular basis, and understand that the School plans to do so. We further recommend that the School redouble its efforts to ensure that sensitivity to student protection and safety remain the School s primary and driving focus when responding to all reports of alleged sexual misconduct, and that the School adhere to the written policies and procedures it has recently developed. In this vein, we recommend that the School continue to work with Keeping Children Safe (KCS), including the planned 31

36 Level 2 audit and certification from this organization to ensure that existing policies are refined if necessary and, importantly, are actually and consistently being implemented in practice. This includes ensuring that the School administration does not concentrate authority for handling student protection matters with individual members of the administration without also ensuring accountability and transparency of decision-making. Part of ensuring accountability and transparency involves maintaining complete and accurate records of allegations of sexual abuse, both to inform investigations and also to ensure continuity and information-sharing among administrators and from one School administration to the next. Finally, we note the paramount importance of reporting allegations of sexual abuse to the appropriate government authorities whenever required, consistent with Japanese law. We believe that these additional steps should serve as a bedrock for building a sustained commitment to student safety and a culture of student protection at ASIJ. 32

37 APPENDIX A DOCUMENT REVIEW METHODOLOGY Ropes & Gray collected, searched, and reviewed over 26,000 documents during the course of the investigation. These include hard copy documents collected from the Chofu campus, archive CDs maintained by ASIJ staff, documents obtained from the law firm of O Donnell Clark & Crew, and s and files collected from individuals. The documents date from the 1960s to The categories of documents collected include but are not limited to documents concerning the following subject areas: Documents concerning any known allegations of sexual misconduct by any person affiliated with the American School in Japan (the School ); Personnel files of Jack Moyer ( Moyer ) and any other School personnel associated with any known allegation of sexual misconduct; Documents concerning the Miyake Program; School yearbooks from 1963 to present; Current and historical safe environment policies, including any School policies concerning hiring, background checks, training for staff and volunteers, and abuse prevention education for students; Documents concerning any reports made by the School, students, or alumni to law enforcement concerning any known allegation of sexual misconduct by any School personnel; Correspondence to/from students and alumni concerning any allegation of sexual misconduct by any School personnel; Copies of any Board of Directors meeting minutes referencing any allegation of sexual misconduct by any School personnel or complaints by staff, students, or alumni; and Documents concerning any previous investigations performed by the School concerning any allegation of sexual misconduct by any School personnel. In conducting its review of the documents collected, Ropes & Gray reviewed personnel files and other key categories of documents in their entirety, including over 75 personnel and alumni files, including that of Jack Moyer. Ropes & Gray then conducted a targeted review of other documents based on a keyword search, so as to locate documents pertaining to any allegations or reports of sexual misconduct in the most efficient manner. Targeted searches were also conducted to locate the School s historical policies. Ropes & Gray was advised that the School has no formal record retention policy. Because of this, some s and documents from the relevant time frame are no longer in existence. Ropes & Gray s review is limited to the files and documents in the School s possession as of the date Ropes & Gray was retained. The School also advised Ropes & Gray that its current architecture did not allow for searches to be run on a system-wide basis. Accordingly, Ropes & Gray s review 33

38 was limited to the s and other electronic data that were collected voluntarily from individuals affiliated with the School. 34

39 APPENDIX B STUDENT PROTECTION HANDBOOK 35

40 student handbook protection cover image by Zoe Mack 18