Ex-pupil’s family sues school over alleged sex assault

A former Hawaii island boarding student and his parents are suing Hawaii Preparatory Academy, alleging the private school failed to protect the minor from repeated sexual abuse by a female dormitory supervisor and concealed evidence of the inappropriate relationship.

The Seattle family filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Honolulu, accusing the Waimea school of gross negligence, negligent supervision and violations of the U.S. Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit claims the school enabled an environment where the employee “was free to choose her sexual conquests among students in her apartment.”

The former student, who is now 19, is not named in the civil lawsuit, which was filed under the alias John Roe I, because he was a minor when the alleged sexual encounters occurred. Under Hawaii law the legal age of consent to have sex is 16.

Honolulu attorney Bruce Voss, who represents the former student and his parents, said, “The facts of the complaint and the seriousness of the misconduct speak for themselves, and beyond that we cannot comment at this time.”

The former HPA employee, who lived on campus with her two minor children, according to the lawsuit, is identified with the initials A.C. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser verified that the initials refer to Arati Clarry, who HPA said in a March 2016 letter to families had been fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Clarry, who had also been the school’s director of alumni and student programs, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Accused worker fired

The lawsuit accuses Clarry, a 1996 alumna of the school, of preying on young students and turning her campus apartment into “a Neverland Ranch,” referring to Michael Jackson’s famed California theme park-like home, which was associated with child molestation charges against the late pop star.

“A.C. created a ‘Neverland Ranch’ within the apartment provided by Hawaii Preparatory Academy, where she could entertain students, relive her earlier years at Hawaii Preparatory Academy, and build a fantasy world where students would be led to believe that sex with an adult was acceptable,” the lawsuit states.

In an emailed statement, HPA’s head of school, Robert McKendry, said the school could not discuss the details of the lawsuit, but said the accused employee has been fired.

“It is our school policy not to discuss details concerning any lawsuit, nor publicly comment on confidential student information,” McKendry said. “Once our school learned of the inappropriate conduct, the former employee was terminated and not permitted on our campus. We have zero tolerance for behavior that betrays the trust between teachers and students. We remain deeply saddened and disturbed by this matter. The safety and well-being of our students are our highest priorities.”

A trip to Kauai

Hawaii Preparatory Academy has an enrollment of 620 students in kindergarten through high school, with approximately 200 high school boarding students. Day tuition for high school grades will be $25,800 in the fall, while seven-day boarding tuition will be $50,900.

The student known as John Roe I in the lawsuit began attending the school in 2015 as a junior and lived in one of three residence halls on campus, near the private apartments for dorm supervisors.

The lawsuit says that during a 2015 school trip to Kauai, Clarry “groomed” the boy by “conveying an image that she was a peer and a friend.” She later became “cuddly” with the student, “resting against him and allowing him to sit on her lap.” The alleged grooming intensified after the Kauai trip.

Clarry allegedly encouraged the boy to spend time in her apartment, where, according to the lawsuit, students were allowed to study and hang out.

When he left the campus in December 2015 to spend the holidays with his family, the lawsuit says, Clarry called and texted him repeatedly.

When he returned to school, Clarry allegedly invited the student to join an “inner circle” of approximately 10 students who were allowed to access her apartment without prior permission. These select students were also allowed to sleep overnight in her apartment.

Coed sleepovers

During the alleged sleepovers, male and female students were allowed to share beds, and Clarry would sleep in the same beds as students, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint says that from February to March 2016 — when the boy’s parents discovered the relationship — Clarry sexually abused the student 16 to 24 times in her apartment. She would text him after 10:30 p.m. — when dorm students were supposed to be in bed — to come over to her apartment for sex, the suit says.

Security camera footage would later show the student on multiple occasions leaving his second-floor dormitory at night and entering Clarry’s apartment alone, then exiting the apartment the next morning.

The boy’s parents learned of the relationship after finding “numerous disturbing text messages” from Clarry on their son’s phone. One of the texts allegedly said, “Ummm… All I WANT to do is spend all day all night every day having sex with you.”

Damages sought

The lawsuit alleges the former employee had other inappropriate contact with students and former students. The school’s administrators are faulted in the lawsuit for failing to prevent, report or investigate the sexual abuse.

It also claims that another dorm employee was fired by Hawaii Preparatory Academy after reporting that she had observed Clarry and the student kissing in a car in a school parking lot.

Because of the “extensive unwelcome, undesired and offensive” sexual advances, the boy has suffered and continues to suffer severe and permanent emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, humiliation and psychological injuries, according to the lawsuit. He has had to seek medical and psychological treatment, therapy and counseling. The suit seeks unspecified damages.