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Gilman School Hires Firm To Investigate 1990s Sexual Abuse By Former Coach Martin Meloy

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A prestigious all-boys private school in Baltimore is hiring a firm to investigate sexual assaults that occurred between students and a staffer in the 1990s.

Gilman School officials sent a note home Thursday revealing a former teacher and coach sexually abused students in the 1990s.

Dr. Martin Meloy, who died in 2015, was engaged in sexually abusive behavior with Gilman students on separate occasions at his Baltimore County home in the 1990s, school headmaster Henry P.A. Smyth wrote in a letter to the school's community.

When victims came forward in November 2008 to report the abuse, Meloy was immediately removed from Gilman. The school reported the case to the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office, which reached a non-prosecution agreement with Meloy in February 2009. It ensured he wouldn't have unsupervised contact with minors.

Smyth said at the time school officials prioritized two things: removing Meloy from any involvement with students and reporting the incidents to authorities.

But recently a survivor reached out to the school and in hindsight, school officials said they should have done more at the time.

"With the benefit of hindsight, we realize that we could have done more; specifically, we could have taken steps to determine if any other students had been harmed by Meloy's grave violation of our students' trust," Smyth's letter stated. "We are profoundly sorry that members of our Gilman community have suffered such abuse. As Headmaster, as Board President, and as parents, it is difficult to express fully the visceral reaction that these reports evoke."

Gilman has hired T&M Protection Resources to conduct a thorough, third-party investigation into the incident.

"While the misconduct of Meloy has precipitated this letter and this investigation, we believe this is our opportunity to uphold our promise to Gilman survivors from every era," Smyth said in the letter. "We encourage anyone who has experienced or is aware of sexually abusive behavior by any Gilman faculty or staff members during any era in our history to contact Ms. Kirschstein, even if you have raised allegations to the School before."

School officials encourage anyone who has been affected personally or who has information that may assist the investigation to contact Laura Kirschstein, Vice President of Sexual Misconduct Consulting & Investigations, at 646-445-7737 or Gilmanschool@tmprotection.com.

"Gilman holds as its highest priority the safety and well-being of our students. We are not aware of any sexually abusive behavior with current students, faculty, or staff," the letter stated.

Read the full letter here: Gilman School - Historical Sexual Abuse Letter

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