Former Kamehameha students allege abuse by school psychiatrist
STAR-ADVERTISER / MAY 2011
Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama campus in Kalihi.
Twenty-four male graduates from Kamehameha Schools and two from other schools allege in a lawsuit filed today that they were systematically sexually abused and prescribed inappropriate prescription drugs as children by the head of Kamehameha’s department of psychiatry, who later shot himself to death in 1991 when confronted by the allegations.
The lawsuit names 24 of the 26 alleged victims and their survivors. They are now adult lawyers, doctors, business professionals, police officers and “other prominent individuals within the Hawaiian community,” according to the Honolulu law firms of Davis Levin Livingston and Michael J. Green, who filed the suit.
Green called the plaintiffs “some of the bravest people I’ve ever known.”
Kamehameha Schools had no immediate comment today.
Attorneys Green and Mark Davis believe the number of victims is much larger and said at a press conference today that students from other Hawaii schools also were referred to Dr. Robert M. Browne, who had lost his privileges at St. Francis Medical Center before going to work at Kamehameha in the 1950s. He continued to have privileges at Kuakini Medical Center, now known as Kuakini Health System.
St. Francis Medical Center and Kuakini Health System are also named in the suit along with Kamehameha Schools.
The attorneys said the molestations occurred at Kamehameha for 27 years between 1958 through 1985.
Most of the alleged 24 Kamehameha students attended the Kapalama campus as boarders from neighbor islands.
They were ordered to see Browne as a patient for a wide range of issues, from adjusting to life on Oahu to minor infractions including tardiness, Green said.
The lawsuit outlines in often graphic detail allegations of violent rape, masturbation, oral sex and other sexual misconduct during sessions that sometimes were conducted in Browne’s office, home and in the residential apartment of the principal.
Browne had guns in his office that he typically showed to his patients, Green said, and often referred to gun suicide as a possible solution to their issues. Some of Browne’s colleagues at Kamehameha had killed themselves, Green said.
Kamehameha was confronted by the allegations in 1991 but school officials failed to respond, Green and Davis said.
Browne killed himself in 1991 the night that he was confronted by one of his alleged victims for the first time.
All of the alleged victims believed they were the only one, Davis said.
The allegations became public when one of Browne’s victims stood up at an unidentified church service in 1990 and made vague allegations about an unidentified school.
A woman who attended the service told her brother, an attorney, who met with the alleged victim.
According to Green, the attorney later contacted Browne and told the psychiatrist, “‘You ain’t getting away with this.’ Dr. Brown then shot himself, took his own life.”
Blake Conant also attended Kamehameha and was 4 years older than his little brother, Christopher, who had been ordered to see Browne as a patient because he was having difficulty adjusting to life on Oahu.
Blake told reporters today that Christopher had a difficult life far beyond Kamehameha and he only learned what had happened to Christopher when Blake moved back from the mainland three years ago.
A month before Christopher’s death due to alcoholism and drug abuse while in his 50s, Christopher for the first time revealed the allegations of abuse as a 12-year-old boarder student at Kamehameha.
“My brother’s life was ruined,” Blake said. “My mom and dad entrusted Kamehameha to watch over us. … We revered the legacy of (Bernice) Pauahi (Bishop). As a Hawaiian, it was the ultimate.”
The lawsuit was filed just before the statute of limitations expires in April, Green and Davis said.
48 responses to “Former Kamehameha students allege abuse by school psychiatrist”
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OMG! This is as big as JoePa at Penn State.
Yep. This going to open up a can of worms.
Yep. Parents know where the deep pockets are.
Would you please, just for once stop.
thank you
This is the stupidest comment yet from mikethenoclue. I hope if ever one of your family member gets abused like these men in their younger days was, I hope you don’t think about deep pockets.
Keep your hands out of those boys’ pockets, pal.
sounds like KS did not check references. I agree with the attorneys that KS was wrong in this matter. I wonder if the school is still liable after all these years. Really sad.
did you read the last paragraph?
Such a predator placed in a middle school environment. He ran wild. The crooks who ran KS back then hated other Hawaiians and ripped them off continually. This is another black mark on their misrule. This must never happen again. The criminal Bishop Estate ran Hawaii with an iron fist I am told and got away with anything they wanted to. I am glad this scandal has been exposed and you can be sure that there is much more to this story than we know.
Wow, allie, Iʻm impressed. . .youʻre so well-informed.
Allie for US Attorney…
We Mandans see through shibai. We like to look behind the curtains to see what is really going on…
Here we go again. Lets see how much we can nail KSBE for.
This isn’t about nailing anyone It’s about accountability. Did they tell someone and was it hushed up? Was it swept under the carpet? These are brave men who are willing to step out of the shadows and talk about being victimized.
agree
27 years, 26 alleged victims (that we know of) = systematic neglect and abuse. Bring a hammer, it’s time to NAIL.
Its always been that way. Same with other prominent school(s) here as well as the University. Sweep the dirt under the carpet to protect the image. There are many more victims than you know.
Wait, the man killed himself before accusations were made. How was KSBE sweeping it under the rug?
Believe me when I say many accusations are made and swept under the rug to avoid a tarnished reputation.
OMG! The parents want to put the students through another traumatic episode in court for monetary gains? Let it go.
Uh these ” kids” are in their late forties to early fifties.
I have seen Vietnam veterans crying from the flashbacks of the war, recently.
another non sequitur argument postulated by the novice
This is not the same as those others who went after KSBE for their deep pockets. This was an employee of KSBE who used his position and power to abuse minors. KSBE should pay these victims. That’s the law. The hard part is finding out who was really abused.
does the statute of limitations apply here? Just wondering…Seems like slimy Mike Green is at it again…
Is reading to the end of the article that difficult?
mike green is one heck of a criminal defense lawyer and he has a smart team behind him.
agree. KS was very poorly and dishonestly run under the Bishop Estate but it is much better run now. Or at least, it was under Dee Jay Mailer who was a real educator. Hawaiians not serving other Hawaiians well is not a new story out here but it is still a sad one.
Although the number of accusers is impressive, this does not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Dr. Browne or KSBE is guilty of a crime.The plaintiff and their lawyers will first need to prove that Dr Browne was likely guilty in the abuse charges, remembering that he cannot defend himself. Then they will need to prove that KSBE was aware of Dr. Browne’s abusive activities and failed to take appropriate actions. I’m guessing that the lawyers are hoping for a settlement with KSBE rather than a trial.
Yup – Mike Green style
most certainly
Killed himself the moment an allegation was set to go public. Perfect illustration of consciousness of guilt.
God bless Michael Green and Co and may Justice be done for the innocent victims, all the innocent victims.
A pinhole camera should do the trick.
Sad episode for all. The school, victims, and the late Doctor Brown! The positive results are some of the “victims” turn out to become, doctors, lawyers, and “other prominent individuals within the Hawaiian community”! The statute of limitation expires in April – let’s hope this isn’t all about money. It seems green, the color of money, is synonymous to some law firms!
One thing good will come out of this….all current Kamehameha students and hopefully many other children in Hawaii will learn that it’s not OK for adults in positions of power to harm them….Hopefully these other children will speak out and we can start to put and end to child abuse, which really is one of the most horrific crimes ever.
Wait a minute!! What happened to the trial?? You’re automatically assuming all claimants are “victims” and any trial will automatically find in their favor. These allegations will be pretty hard to prove. The concept of “money grabbing from the deep pocket to make us go away” seems a more likely motivation.
Sorry, I think your argument is disjointed. What does being hard to prove have to do with actually being “guilty” or not? And in the last sentence, are you saying that again, victims or not, their only motivation is money?
agree. Likely KS with its vast riches and subsidies by all tax payers will pay them off. I hope all others harmed by KS will come forward now. KS is still not facing who and what it is as a school. They also need to pour hundreds of millions of dollars more in projects helping all Hawaiians.
Wow!
I am sure KS went out of their way to hirer an abuser? The loser, are KS and the victims. The abuser is long gone.
My son was a boarder and we signed a document that parents need to be informed with permission to take our son off campus. A counselor took our son off campus on a date to eat Hawaiian food. When brought to the attention of the counselor and his supervisor, we were chastised. Parents of borders hand over their children to this institution as a safe place to be educated. There should be mandatory annual training for all staff and students with a hot line to report sexual abuse by staff or students just like the military. Who is hiring these jerks?
yet the JerustlHatham church. payup and cover. over 2000 years. yet our all involved FOR Us T0 make better. I pray to the cross. I believe U can also believe in hope. . you can help our lives, bring our troops home. GOD BLESS GLEN FREY. AND JACKSON BROWNE.
Glenn is gone but Jackson is, thankfully, still here.
I’m a graduate that had no idea this was going on at the time, I also knew the person mentioned in the story. Sad that it had to end that way. The story should have stated who at the school was responsible for the cover up. Now, its going to be about the Lawyers making money at the expense of the victims. The psychiatrist has been dead for twenty years now. Not much you can do.
HAS 1-20=16
Now maybe society will begin to believe those sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests over the centuries. Society had a vested interest to ignore or discredit those who spoke of their clergy sexual abuse and those who spoke out in support of those who were sexually abused. May the Spotlight shine on this criminal aspect!!!
The Kamehameha sexual abuse lawsuit for 24 former students joined with the 60 pending sexual abuse lawsuits against the Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church of Honolulu is quite a statement of how backlogged the victim/survivors has been. It’s like a volcano of justice waiting for it’s time to show us what we are dealing with in Hawaii.