Milton Academy Confirms Sexual Misconduct By Former Faculty Member

MILTON, MA — A man who was a member of the Milton Academy faculty in the 1970s and 80s took part in sexual misconduct with several students at the school, the Milton Academy confirmed Tuesday.

In a letter to the Milton Academy community written by school head Todd Bland and Board of Trustees President Lisa Donahue, an investigation by the school concluded that Rey Buono, who worked at the Milton Academy from 1973-1987, "engaged in multiple incidents of sexual misconduct with students during his tenure at Milton."

The investigation concluded that there were at least 12 incidents of abuse with underage male students and Headmaster Jerry Pieh had some knowledge of Buono's misconduct in 1982.

Buono was fired by the school in 1987 after he admitted to sexually abusing a student.

"Milton Academy’s leadership at that time failed to protect students and failed to investigate whether Rey Buono had abused other students during his tenure at the School," the letter obtained by FOX25 said.

The investigation also confirmed accusations three other former male employees. The incidents involved a single female student in each case and ranged from lewd comments or sexual touching to sexual intercourse. Those incidents happened on campus but were not reported the administration at the time, the school confirmed.

In response to the Buono case, the school believes that he is living in Southeast Asia and have notified immigration authorities and his former employers of the findings. All other investigated individuals that took advantage of a student have been banned from campus and all Milton Academy events.

The following note was included for all victims:

To help address the impact on the victims and those close to them, Milton is offering to pay for professional counseling services for anyone affected by these incidents. If you would like to speak about counseling support, you may contact Deborah O’Toole, Milton’s chief human resources officer, at deborah_otoole@milton.edu or 617-898-2286, or you may contact our independent consulting psychiatrist, Dr. Mike Jellinek, at mjellinek@partners.org, who will keep your name anonymous to the School.

Click here to read the full letter.