Boychoir Sexual Abuse Case Is Heard by Supreme Court

Candace Braun

The State Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a molestation charge against the American Boychoir School in Princeton. Last Monday, November 29, the court heard arguments from Lawrence Lessig, a lawyer representing John W. Hardwicke Jr., who claims to have been molested by several staff members when he was a student. Attorney Jay H. Greenblat represented the school.

Mr. Hardwicke, 47, a Maryland resident, attended the school from 1969 to 1971, and claims that he was molested by the school's former music director, Donald Hanson, as well as other high-ranking officials. Mr. Hanson, an employee at the school since 1981, admitted to the allegations in 1982 and left Princeton, moving to Canada.

Mr. Hardwicke first made allegations against the school in late 1999, claiming to have suffered depression as a result of his experiences. He then hired Mr. Lessig to represent him. The lawyer is a Stanford University law professor, who also attended the school from 1972 to 1976.

The lawsuit, first filed approximately four years ago, was originally dismissed at the Mercer County Superior Court level on the grounds that the institution is not a person, as that term is used in the N.J. Sexual Abuse Statute, said Donald Edwards, president of the American Boychoir School.: "It is that sexual abuse statute that allows a person to make a claim within two years after they connect the alleged abuse with the damage that they feel they are suffering.... That law is one of the key legal issues in this case."

It was later dismissed because the school is protected under "charitable immunity," a legal defense that leaders of the Catholic in Church in New Jersey have been lobbying state legislators to overturn in recent months, mainly due to legal cases involving molestation charges such as this one.

The lawsuit was reinstated in a 2 to 1 ruling by the Appellate Division earlier this year, which is currently being appealed at the state level by the school.

The court has not made a decision regarding the lawsuit, said Mr. Edwards: "We have no indication from the court when the decision will be handed down."

Recent letters back and forth between the two parties' lawyers have Mr. Greenblat responding to Mr. Lessig's recent claims to the press that 30 to 40 percent of the student body at the Boychoir School has been sexually abused over the years. Mr. Greenblat contended that the accusations are false.

The American Boychoir School now enforces a child protection program for its students, as outlined on the school's website, www.americanboychoir.org.

"We are confident that by dealing with these issues openly, we have created an environment of trust and candor that minimizes the possibility of abuse," said Mr. Edwards in a statement to the public in June. He called the incident "a dark chapter in [the school's] otherwise bright history."