Students Exercised In Nude, Lawrenceville Teacher Watched: School

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ — A former teacher at The Lawrenceville School is accused of punishing students by forcing them to do push-ups and other exercises naked while he watched, according to the school. Bruce Presley's alleged actions amounted to an “abuse of power” and “sexual harassment,” the school said in a recent letter to the community.

"Mr. Presley’s conduct towards our former students is abhorrent, unacceptable, and contrary to all the values of Lawrenceville," the school said in a letter that became public on Wednesday. "We offer our heartfelt sympathy and apologies to those affected by his behavior."

Presley offered these punishments as an alternative to detention or other forms of discipline when a student broke a school rule. Presley was a teacher and housemaster at the elite private school from 1960 through 1984, and the allegations refer to incidents that took place in the 1970s, according to the letter. There were no reports of physical abuse related to Presley's conduct.

"At the time, the administration conducted some level of review but it is not known whether any follow-up action was taken," the school said in the letter.

The letter, sent in December, was issued after another letter was sent to the community in June of 2016 in which the school asked for information about any inappropriate incidents between teachers and students that may have taken place. NJ.com made the letter public in a report published Tuesday, a week after The South Florida Gay News first reported the findings of its investigation. Patch obtained copies of the letters on Wednesday.

There were no incidents that prompted the 2016 letter to be sent. The school was taking proactive steps to ensure it knew of any inappropriate behavior between adults and students, past or present, according to the statement.

The school received four responses, including some second hand information about an incident involving Presley.

"We remain committed to eliciting any new information about Mr. Presley, or any other incidents at the School," the school said. "Based on this new information, we have retained independent investigators who are experienced in working with victims in matters like these, to learn the extent of Mr. Presley’s misconduct and examine the School administration’s response to his behavior. We will also again reach out to our alumni to see if they have any further information about Mr. Presley. We will update the community when we have new information to share and will report on the investigation when it is complete."

The school has attempted to contact Presley directly, but he never responded. Presley wasn't immediately available for comment Wednesday.

All the victims were 17 or 18 years old at the time, according to The South Florida Gay News, which conducted their own investigation into the matter after receiving an email from a Robbinsville man. The man said he was inspired by the "Me Too" movement and was irritated that the women who were coming forward weren't being believed. The 79-year-old Presley is now the president of Downtown Loft Studio Inc. in the West Palm Beach area. The company makes videos for the LGBT community.

In addition to being an entrepreneur, Presley is also on the Board of Directors for the South Florida Symphony Orchestra. He formerly ran The Lawrenceville Press, a publishing company that made textbooks and later computer manuals for students, according to the New York Times.

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