Ex LMSD Teacher Had 'Inappropriate' Student Relationship: Report

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA – Thanks to the #MeToo movement, women of all ages across the nation are speaking out about their experiences with sexual assault, misconduct, and harassment after years of feeling helpless, hopeless, and voiceless.

Now, a Main Line woman is sharing her story of alleged sexual assault by a former Lower Merion School District teacher when she was 13 years old in the 1980s.

In a new Philadelphia Magazine piece, Bryn Mawr psychiatrist Dr. Liz Goldman details the allegations against former Bala Cynwyd Middle School teacher Bill McKendry.

Goldman told the outlet she and McKendry had a relationship that went from paternal and friendly to physical, including kissing, hugging, and eventually touching.

Goldman, 46, says McKendry gave her gifts, wrote love notes, and eventually sexually assaulted her regularly when he was 40 and she was just 13.

According to Philly Magazine, McKendry, 72, admitted having an "inappropriate" but consensual relationship with the teenage Goldman.

“Pretty much every day, I was in his lap," Goldman told the outlet. "He’d have his hands all over me, kissing me and telling me how much he loved me… He’d have his hand between my legs… He’d tell me that he wanted to kiss every square inch of my body and he wanted me to tell him I wanted to kiss every square inch of his body. I was a barely pubertal, non-precocious middle schooler. I was not there. This wasn’t my thing."

Goldman says the district essentially ignored she and her family's concerns when they brought them up in the 80s, alleging the family was told bringing attention to the accusations could ruin McKendry's life.

And in 2005, the district sent Goldman a letter that said they considered the matter closed, Philly Mag writes.

But then Goldman provided the district with the noted McKendry gave her, and days later McKendry resigned after being employed with the district for 36 years.

Read the full Philly Mag piece here.

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