DEERFIELD — A California man has filed a $40 million lawsuit that claims he was sexually assaulted more than 35 years ago when he was a 14-year-old student by a Deerfield Academy faculty member.
The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston by former student Moss Krivin, names former instructor Peter Hindle and three unnamed "John Doe" defendants. It seeks $10 million from each of the defendants for the ongoing mental and emotional distress as a result of the assault.
Hindle was employed at the academy from 1959 through 2000.
The suit alleges that in 1979, Krivin, then known as Moss Steinberg, was sexually assaulted by Hindle and that the three John Doe defendants were responsible for hiring and supervision of people employed at the academy and that they should have known about the abuse and done something to prevent it.
Krivin was a student at Deerfield Academy from 1979 through 1981. The abuse is said to have occurred in 1979 when he was 14.
The suit alleges that sometime in 1979, Hindle invited the student to accompany him to his dormitory residence, and once there, they engaged in sexual conduct. After they finished, Hindle instructed him that what had occurred "was to be kept secret by the plaintiff and that (he) must not tell anyone about it."
The suit claims that as a result of the incident, Krivin continues to suffer from "emotional distress and physical harm" including thoughts of suicide, depression, sadness, anger, anxiety, sleep disorder and panic attacks. The suit also claims a financial hardship caused by years of medical and therapeutic care and treatment, a long-term loss in earning capacity and other damages.
Hindle, reached at his home Tuesday afternoon, said he did not know about being named in the lawsuit until he was informed by a reporter. He said he had no comment, and said he did not have an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Two weeks ago, the academy
agreed to a $500,000 settlement to end a lawsuit filed in federal court in Connecticut by a former student who claimed he was sexually assaulted by another teacher, Bryce Lambert, on dozens of occasions in the mid-1980s.
Lambert died in 1997, and no charges were ever filed against him.
The lawyer representing Krivin in this suit, Mitchell Garabedian, of Boston, was also the lawyer in the Lambert case. Garabedian is the attorney who represented numerous victims of clergy sex abuse in the Boston Catholic archdiocese.
The academy in 2013 disclosed to students, parents, and alumni the allegations of sexual misconduct by faculty and launched an internal investigation. It later unveiled the results of that investigation that
acknowledged some incidents of faculty engaged in improper sexual activity with students and that the school could have done more to prevent it from happening.
The report named both Hindle and Lambert, and disclosed the college confirmed instances where each had sexual activity with students. In Hindle's case, he admitted to having sex with one student, and there was strong evidence to suggest involvement with at least one other student, according to the report.
Sullivan issued a statement in August that said he was
unable to prosecute allegations of wrongdoing from 25 years ago because the statute of limitations had expired.
Deerfield Academy spokesman David Thiel said Tuesday he was aware of the suit but had not read it yet. Hindle had not had any affiliation with the campus in many years, he said.
"Obviously, the safety and welfare of our students is the most important responsibility we have," he said.
"We empathize with the survivors. We are trying to respond with as much compassion, understanding and transparency as we can," he said.
Text of lawsuit filed by Moss Krivin vs. Peter Hindle
