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Honolulu attorney Michael Green filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Kamehameha Schools that alleges the school didn’t protect its students from a psychiatrist who allegedly molested them.
The eight plaintiffs in the lawsuit attended Kamehameha Schools in the 1970s and had been ordered to see Dr. Robert Browne, a psychiatrist at St. Francis hospital. They filed the suit because of a state law that extends the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases.
Kamehameha spokesman Kekoa Paulsen said: “These are very serious allegations. We have not yet seen what was filed, so we cannot comment at this time.”
Green said Browne would take boys into his office or his home, show them pornography, and fondle their genitals. He said Browne abused children for years and probably has hundreds of victims. Browne shot and killed himself in 1991 after a former student confronted him about the abuse over the phone, Green said.
He said Kamehameha Schools is responsible because it ordered children with problems to see Browne and threatened to expel them if they didn’t. He said at least one employee at Kamehameha Schools knew that Browne was molesting students.
Many of the victims have been left with psychological problems.
“Most of their lives have really been disrupted,” Green said. “The important thing is that Kamehameha doesn’t get a chance to walk away from this.”
The suit also names Browne’s estate and the hospital.
