Fessenden Administrator Cleared Of Sexual Misconduct, To Return

NEWTON, MA — The Fessenden School administrator who was put on leave as the police looked into allegations of sexual misconduct has been cleared, according to the school, and is slated to return in January.

"The criminal investigation into this matter is closed. There are no pending criminal charges," confirmed a representative from the Middlesex DA's office.

"The District Attorney’s office has informed us that, based on their investigation and that of the NewtonPolice Department, they do not intend to pursue charges," said Outgoing Headmaster David B. Stettler in a letter to families.

An administrator and former teacher at the all boys school in Newton had been placed on leave in June after the school reported allegations to police that stemmed from the 1990s, Patch reported in June.

Fessenden School officials sent home a letter in June to school community members saying the school was taking the accusations against a residential life director seriously and that as such the school had placed the staff member on administrative leave. The residential life director reportedly denied any misconduct at the time.

Stettler said in a follow up letter to parents of the private boys’ school this month that the Middlesex District Attorney’s office and Newton police investigated the allegation, and informed the school that no charges would be filed. Fessenden also hired a law firm to also investigate, according to the letter, and said after interviewing students, faculty and administrators from the late 1990s forward, they concluded the allegations were “unsupported,” according to the letter provided to Patch (see below).

Stettler said the administrator in question would return to the school.

Patch reached out to the residential director but his auto reply message indicated he was not checking his school email. Emails to the school were forwarded to a spokesperson for the school who said they were not commenting beyond the letter they'd sent to the community.

The director has a high rating among students according to the online teacher rating at RateMyTeachers.com, which allows students to grade their teachers anonymously, Patch reported earlier.

One person wrote there in 2006, "Excellent dorm parent, great personality very fair, cares about others, can communicate well, excellent teacher from the get go even as a newbie in the mid 80s A."

This is not the first time the all boys school has had a spotlight trained on it for allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2014, well-known victims' attorney Mitchell Garabedian filed a lawsuit against the Fessenden School, seeking monetary damage for sexual abuse that took place there four decades ago, the Newton TAB's Jim Morrison reported at the time.

"According to the West Newton boarding school, the number of boys sexually assaulted by assistant headmaster Arthur Clarridge and other former staff is unclear, though the total is thought to include at least six students," reported Morrison.

Read the full letter here:

December 13, 2017

Dear Members of the Fessenden Community,

I am following up on a letter that I wrote to you in June in which I informed you of an allegation of sexual
misconduct dating to the late 1990s. (The text of the June 20 letter can be found at
www.fessenden.org/june2017letter.) The allegation involved Mr. Kenneth Howe, a faculty member and
administrator in the middle and upper schools. When I learned of the allegation in December 2016, I
placed Mr. Howe on administrative leave and directed him to remain off campus. The Newton Police
Department as well as the Middlesex District Attorney’s office investigated this allegation, and we hired
an outside law firm, Collora LLP (now Hogan Lovells—these firms merged in September), to perform an
independent investigation.
The District Attorney’s office has informed us that, based on their investigation and that of the Newton
Police Department, they do not intend to pursue charges. Hogan Lovells has provided us with the final
report regarding their independent investigation. Based on their interviews of students, faculty, and
administrators from the late 1990s and subsequent years, as well as their review of records, they
concluded that the allegation is unsupported. Their report notes that my letter of June 20 was sent to
more than 11,000 members of the Fessenden community and was amplified by contemporaneous media
coverage. The only responses to this widespread inquiry, outreach, and coverage were messages of
support confirming Mr. Howe’s integrity.
The Board of Trustees and I have determined that Mr. Howe should and will return to Fessenden. This
decision is based on the fact that two major investigations and widespread disclosure with extensive
media coverage have led to no corroboration of the allegation.
A year has passed since we first learned of this allegation. Throughout this challenging time, we have
relied on Fessenden’s core values of honesty, compassion, and respect to guide us in our actions. As I
have shared with you in the past, most recently in my letter of June 20, the safety of our students is our
highest priority. Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

David B. Stettler
Headmaster

Previously on Patch:

Fessenden School Administrator Accused Of Sexual Misconduct, Put On Leave

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/ Patch