26 former pupils say they were molested
STAR-ADVERTISER / MAY 16, 2011
The Kaamehameha Schools-Kapalama campus in Kalihi is seen in this 2011 photo.
Twenty-six men — 24 former Kamehameha Schools students and two from other schools — alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that as children they were systematically sexually abused and prescribed inappropriate prescription drugs by Kamehameha’s psychiatrist, who shot himself to death in 1991 when confronted by the allegations.
The Circuit Court 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, which filed the suit. Most of the alleged victims and their survivors live across the islands, but some now reside in Oregon and Washington state.
Green called the plaintiffs “some of the bravest people I’ve ever known.”
“Most were in middle school,” attorney Mark Davis said. “Most thought they were the only ones.”
In a statement Kamehameha Schools said, “The claims we are hearing about today are the same that were made in the lawsuit that was originally filed in 2014. We continue to be troubled and saddened by this matter. The safety and welfare of our students is Kamehameha’s highest priority. We are working to resolve this matter in the best interests of everyone involved.”
A 2014 lawsuit against the estate of psychiatrist Dr. Robert M. Browne involving six of the plaintiffs was dismissed based on procedural grounds.
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Attorneys Green and Davis said they believe the number of victims is much larger than the 26 identified in their lawsuit. They said at a news conference Tuesday that students from other Hawaii schools also were referred to Browne, who began working for Kamehameha in the 1950s.
“He was not an employee,” Davis said. “He was the designated psychiatrist, the Kamehameha Schools psychiatrist. He was the person that Kamehameha selected, paid for and charged with the obligations of providing all of the psychiatric treatment that Kamehameha Schools felt these kids needed.”
Kamehameha Schools and its board of trustees are named as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges a systematic failure by Kamehameha authorities to fulfill their mandatory reporting duties after some students and parents notified Kamehameha officials of the alleged abuse.
In 1991 “high-level” Kamehameha administrators were informed of Browne’s alleged abuse, according to the lawsuit.
“Promises were made that Kamehameha Schools would take action,” according to the lawsuit. “Instead, Kamehameha Schools did nothing. Kamehameha Schools chose to undertake a cover-up and to conceal the crimes of Dr. Browne, and refused to contact its former students to inform them that Dr. Browne’s methodology included criminal behavior and medical malpractice. … Their intentional disregard and deliberate indifference enabled Dr. Browne to rob these children of their souls with impunity, forever altering the course of their lives, violating the very express(ed) wishes and legacy of the late Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop when she established her trust for the protection and benefit of all children of Hawaiian ancestry.”
In 1983 Brown inexplicably lost his privileges at St. Francis Medical Center but 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 lawsuit.
“When he lost his offices at St. Francis, and perhaps other times, he treated students in the principal’s personal apartment (at Kamehameha),” Davis said. “He was a dorm adviser and was living in the dorms, but we don’t know when and we don’t know if he was paid.”
The attorneys said the molestation occurred at Kamehameha for 27 years between 1958 through 1985. All of the alleged victims were under the age of 16, and most were in middle school.
Most of the alleged 24 Kamehameha victims came from the neighbor islands and attended the Kapalama campus as boarders.
But one of the plaintiffs had been a third-grader at St. Patrick School and was referred to Browne in 1958. Another was a sixth-grader in 1968 who attended Kahala Elementary School and continued being Browne’s patient until he was an eighth-grader at Kaimuki Intermediate School, according to the lawsuit.
The Kamehameha Schools boys were ordered to see Browne for a wide range of issues, from adjusting to life on Oahu to minor infractions including tardiness, Green said.
The lawsuit outlines graphic allegations of rape; pornography; penetration with foreign objects that sometimes caused rectal bleeding; masturbation; oral sex; and other sexual misconduct during sessions that sometimes were conducted in Browne’s office at St. Francis, at his home in Manoa and in the residential apartment of the Kamehameha Schools principal.
Browne also served as a dorm sponsor, according to the lawsuit, “which authorized him to take physical custody of Kamehameha Schools boarding students, including the plaintiffs, from their dormitories and keep them in his home in Manoa for weekend sleep-overs where he drugged and committed further sexual abuse.”
Browne was married with children, and his wife is now also dead, Green said.
| WHO
Twenty-six men and their survivors allege systematic sexual abuse and a subsequent cover-up after they were ordered to attend therapy sessions by a psychiatrist on the orders of Kamehameha Schools. They were all under the age of 16 at the time, and most were in middle school. WHAT Lawsuit filed Tuesday against Kamehameha Schools, St. Francis Medical Center and Kuakini Health Center WHERE Office of Dr. Robert M. Browne; personal apartment of Kamehameha Schools’ principal; Browne’s Manoa residence WHEN Alleged abuse occurred from 1958 through 1985. |
“If the plaintiffs refused to attend Dr. Browne’s therapy sessions,” according to the lawsuit, “Kamehameha Schools, through its agents, employees, associates, and/or representatives, coerced, intimidated, and/or threatened them, including threatening to expel them from Kamehameha Schools, knowing that expulsion would cast shame and disgrace upon the student and his family.”
One alleged victim, who was an 11-year-old seventh-grader in 1975, was repeatedly raped and sodomized for two years and had objects including a large, “Sharpie-type” pen forced up his rectum, causing bleeding that seeped through the boy’s uniform, khaki pants, white shirt, undershirt and underwear, according to the lawsuit.
The boy allegedly reported the abuse to officials at the Hale Ola medical dispensary, the seventh- and eighth-grade “house mother,” the seventh-grade counselor, the director of counseling and the director of boarding. None fulfilled their obligations to report the allegations, according to the lawsuit.
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 problems.
Kamehameha was confronted by the allegations in 1991, but school officials failed to respond, Green and Davis said.
On Halloween in 1991 one of Browne’s alleged victims called Browne and vowed to expose the alleged abuse. That night Browne shot himself in the head, and his body was discovered the next day in his neighbor’s backyard.
The allegations became public when one of Browne’s alleged 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 church speaker.
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 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 after moving from their home on Kauai.
Blake told reporters Tuesday that Christopher had a difficult life far beyond Kamehameha. A month before overdosing on drugs and alcohol in 2011, Christopher for the first time revealed the abuse he allegedly suffered as a 12-year-old boarder student at Kamehameha.
Blake said Christopher told him before he died, “Brah, you have no idea what happened in my life.”
The lawsuit alleges that Browne gave Christopher prescription Valium and other drugs to desensitize him to the sexual abuse, “which led to a lifetime of addiction that resulted in Conant’s death.”
“My mom and dad entrusted Kamehameha to watch over us,” Blake said. “We revered the legacy of Pauahi. As a Hawaiian it was the ultimate. … Shame on them. Shame on them.”
Tuesday’s lawsuit was filed before the statute of limitations expires in April.
40 responses to “26 former pupils say they were molested”
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It appears that the victims saw that a case was brought up against Bill Cosby after so much time had passed that they (the victims here) felt that it would be in their best interest to file now before more time had passed. It appears that they’re going after the deep pocketed Kamehameha Schools. The responsibility may fall on the victims’ parents, who approved the sessions with the doctor, instead of the school. Names and memories will be dragged through the mud.
Yes, the responsibility clearly falls upon the parents even though the children might have been too ashamed to even talk to their parents about the abuse. Responsible parents have mental telepathy. We should also try to preserve the good names of pedophiles and those administrators that were too lazy, callous, and/or corrupt to put a stop to the abuse. You are a first-class moron.
What good does it do to bring a dead man to trial at this point other than to milk the system for money via ambulance chaser lawyers? Justice you say? Browne committed suicide. Are you saying abuse will stop because of lawsuits and publicity? You should not be calling anyone a moron….drunkpile.
The Plaintiffs are suing Kamehameha, not Browne (maybe he also included in the suit though). If Kamehameha knew, or should have known there was abuse, then yes, there is a reason to sue. And, what “system” are you talking about? This a private suit.
Your priorities are really messed up!!!!!!
Was the school a hotbed of homosexual activity given that the Great Kam himself was a known bi sexual? This is the ugliest of colonial missionary stories ever and might harm Hawaii’s image as a refuge for the world to escape its man excesses.
What allegedly happened was not “homosexual activity.” It was Rape. It was an “alleged” pedophile who preyed on young children, threatened young children and repeatedly victimized them. I admire their bravery for coming forward. And if KSBE knew about that pedophile, and it appears as if they did, then it’s time they also be held responsible for what happened to these men when they were children.
“homosexual rape”
Agree.
Agree.
“and it appears as if they did”? Really? How do you know this Tita Girl? I’m just wondering…
I don’t think that was the main point of her comment. I really think it was the foolishness of Mythman’s that spurred the response.
From the article above: “The boy allegedly reported the abuse to officials at the Hale Ola medical dispensary, the seventh- and eighth-grade “house mother,” the seventh-grade counselor, the director of counseling and the director of boarding. None fulfilled their obligations to report the allegations, according to the lawsuit.”
Allegedly…per the lawyer. Remember: Lawyers are liars – they’ll say anything to make their case…
Thank you Tita Girl for going to the heart of the matter and cutting off the apologists.
The very people we place our whole hearted trust in are the very ones who have betrayed us.
Here’s the train Mr. and Ms. Oahu, now bend over and take it like you like it. Are we being raped?
Wow. A+ on bringing up rail. Didn’t think it was possible for this article.
You don’t seem to be able to focus on the situation being discussed.
Few pockets are deeper than those of KS.
Which is the only reason for the lawsuit. Lawyers Green and the other guy like to say it’s for reconciliation. If you take money off the table, would the lawsuit still be filed? Nope. So long ago too…..why would you take 30+ years….THIRTY YEARS…..to say something? Weak.
NOT WEAK…doesn’t matter how long ago this happened. Let the story be told! The passage of time does not make the Holocaust less horrific. The passage of time does not negate the Catholic Church’s misdeeds. Perhaps it took 30 years to summon the courage to face their tormentors. I see RESILIENCE and STRENGTH in the face of evil and a 30+ year cover up ….STRONG!
The tormentor did the right thing: He put a bullet to his head to avoid wasting time/money and sparing the kids from having to testify in court.
You see RESILIENCE and STRENGTH. The rest of us see DOLLAR SIGNS. 30 years is 29 years too long.
I agree, the ONLY way to stop child abuse is to seek out and punish the abuser, it’s the very worst of crimes in the world. No amount of time can return a stolen childhood. The saddest part is that every Hawaiian child I know wants to go to Kamehameha. Hopefully the plaintiffs can negotiate the school to educate 100% of children with Hawaiian ancestry, considering the great price they paid to become successful members of the community.
VERY WEAK. Strong is reporting and addressing an extremely serious problem like that immediately. Scared or Torn maybe? Then maybe a year or two max. But T H I R T Y Y E A R S ?!?!?!?!!!? C’man!!
My heart goes out to the victims and the scared little kids that they used to be. I hope they find healing and happiness in their lives. Too bad there is no greater punishment than death. Preying on vulnerable kids who were forced to see a counselor by the school and then who were ignored when they reported what happened is possibly the greatest betrayal of trust. Talk about a broken trust… And alewa2mililani, you seriously believe that 26 people would come forward and be NAMED if this were untrue? They’re not after money, they’re after truth and justice.
Very well said, caloha.
Do you believe that making the victims relive the abuse in a court of law against a dead man that cannot present a defense is true justice? Do you believe that the money won in a law suit is justice? Do you believe a case like this may also bring out false accusations from other claimants that just want money? If justice=money then there are countless victims that need to stand in line for checks. Think again about the purpose of this specific law suit.
saveparadise – have you ever talked to anyone that was sexually assaulted or molested as a child? Did they tell you the horrible details of the abuse and the devastating impact it had on the rest of their life? No, because you are a simpleton talking about things of which you are wholly ignorant. Also, your post above that compares the development of rail on Oahu to rape or sodomy of taxpayers confirms my suspicion about your low intelligence level. Take a seat, you are embarrassing yourself.
Healing comes in many different forms saveparadise. Having the truth come out about what happened, owning a past that severely affected one, talking about what happened, and having the people and institution that aided in violating you admit it– all of these are steps in a long pathway of healing. Catharsis is truth. Ya maybe they’ll get some money out of it — to pay for the damage caused to them and the mental health resources they will have to pay for to move on. They aren’t being forced to relive this, they are choosing to heal by finding acceptance, truth and justice. So brave.
They’re not suing a dead man. Nobody is making the victims sue. It’s not about the money. Their conscience is still bothering them after all these years. Some also reported this to the school along with the parents. They want closure. Yes there will be others making false claims. You got one right. Sorry not just you there are lots of other comments that are written without thinking or reading.
“They are now adult lawyers, doctors, business professionals, police officers and “other prominent individuals within the Hawaiian community,” They seem to come out alright? Let’s hope the truth comes out otherwise it’s just more people wanting a paycheck. It’s the American way, just sue to get rich!
If you knew anything about molestation, no one “comes out alright.” Some persevere and make the most of their lives despite the tragedy suffered. Others cannot cope. It’s not about money; it’s about justice and those who were in authority taking responsibility for their actions, or lack thereof.
Unfortunately, Kam Schools are known to coverup incidents involving sexual harassment cases as back in the 90’s and early 2000’s there were serious cases of sexual harassment and pornography at the schools and only when the victim parents threatened to ca the police, did Kam ca the police etc…in the public schools couple schools also tried to cover it up and brush off harassment cases and didn’t ca the police but called only when the victim’s parents threatened to ca the police did the school follow up etc…..just makes me sick that these administrators try to cover up incidents when the students themselves are affected.
Yes Hossana, that is the point, administrators turning their backs on children who had been entrusted to their protection. How cunning of Dr. Browne. Most of his victims were outer island boarders, removed from their parents and most vulnerable.
what a travesty…
This case will be a tough one to prove cause the perpetrator is deceased due to suicide. Can’t defend himself unless they go on circumstantial evidence.
Kam schools will be held accountable because they hired this person as a consultant. St. Francis & Kuakini were also included in the lawsuit because the perpetrator worked in both facilities. They may have known of his ‘modus operandi’ and NOT reported him. (Catholic church protected pedophile priests and relocated them to other Diocese to avoid retribution for their past misdeeds).
Whatever the outcome, it will never repair all the damages that left an everlasting impression on the victims. It’ll only bring back ‘bad’ memories and reliving a time in their past that should have never happened. Stay tuned for a long slow trial. Select the jurors carefully.
If anything the lawyers will come out the ‘winners’.
Immorality is never okay. Everyone responsible should be held liable. Don’t fool yourself because you will succeed. I don’t understand how anyone can blame a child or their parents. It’s time to pay it forward. Stop the vicious circle of making yourself happy at the expense of others. Just for tomorrow try to do something good that will others happy like they do in Japan every day.
They would like to sweep this under the rug just like with the Catholic priests! We wouldn’t want the perverts good name dragged through the mud! This type of thing has nothing to do with homosexuality. A child molester is a very different thing.