Private and boarding schools in Rhode Island carry a serious and documented history of child sexual abuse. Survivors who were harmed at these institutions, whether decades ago or more recently, deserve to know that legal options exist, that what happened was not their fault, and that a path to justice is now more accessible than ever before. Rhode Island’s new child sexual abuse law, signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 11, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026, changes the legal landscape for survivors in meaningful ways. If you or someone you love was abused at a Rhode Island private or boarding school, a sexual assault lawyer at Sommers Schwartz can help you understand your rights and your options.

Table of Contents

• Why Private and Boarding Schools in Rhode Island Have a Documented Abuse Problem
• St. George’s School in Middletown: A Case Study in Institutional Failure
• How Rhode Island’s 2026 Child Sexual Abuse Law (H-7200a/S-2616a) Helps Boarding School Survivors
• What Institutions Can Be Held Accountable for Boarding School Abuse
• Why Survivors Often Wait, and Why That Waiting Is Completely Understandable
• FAQs About Rhode Island Private and Boarding School Sexual Abuse

Why Private and Boarding Schools in Rhode Island Have a Documented Abuse Problem

Private and boarding schools operate with a level of autonomy that public schools do not have. Under Rhode Island law, R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-11-2 defines an “educational program” to include any public or private school, including boarding schools. However, private schools in Rhode Island are not required to license their teachers and are not subject to public records laws in the same way public institutions are. That combination of reduced oversight and institutional secrecy created conditions where abuse could go unreported for years.

The boarding school environment adds another layer of vulnerability. Students live on campus, far from their parents, and depend on faculty and staff for their daily safety and wellbeing. That dependence gives adults in positions of authority significant power over children, and some abusers exploited that power. When schools then chose to protect their reputations rather than protect their students, survivors were left with nowhere to turn.

Rhode Island’s Attorney General released a comprehensive report in March 2026 documenting abuse patterns across Catholic institutions in the state. That report identified schools including Mount Saint Charles Academy in Woonsocket and St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket as locations where credibly accused clergy abused students. The report identified 75 clergy members who sexually abused more than 300 children since 1950. The pattern of institutional silence documented in that report mirrors what investigators found at Rhode Island’s private secular boarding schools as well.

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s report also found that accused priests used their positions of authority within Catholic schools to remove children from classrooms and then abuse them. This kind of access, combined with institutional silence, is not unique to religious settings. It appears in secular private schools too, wherever institutions prioritize their own image over the safety of children in their care.

St. George’s School in Middletown: A Case Study in Institutional Failure

A 2016 independent investigation brought to light that St. George’s School, an elite Episcopal boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, spent decades concealing a pattern of alleged sexual abuse that survivors say left them with lasting trauma. The findings were not a surprise to many survivors who had been carrying that trauma for years. What the investigation confirmed was that the school knew, and chose silence.

The school released the results of an independent investigation in 2016 that found over 60 instances of physical and sexual abuse at the school between 1970 and 2015, involving at least 51 students. Sixty-one alumni gave investigators first-hand accounts of the abuse they say they suffered, with 51 saying the abusers were faculty or staff and an additional 10 reporting abuse by classmates.

Around 31 of the reports were made by female students against athletic trainer Alphonse Gibbs. The report claims he engaged in sexual misconduct with girls in every class from the Class of 1976 to the Class of 1982. When the school eventually dismissed him, administrators told students he had left for health reasons, provided him with a letter of recommendation, and continued paying him a pension. He was not reported to any state agency at the time of his firing.

The investigation found the school had fired abusers but failed to report them to law enforcement, misled parents about the reasons for staff dismissals, and in some cases provided job references to abusers who went on to work at other schools. That is not a failure of one person. That is a systemic institutional choice, made repeatedly, at the expense of children. If you attended St. George’s School and experienced abuse, you are not alone, and what happened to you was not your fault.

How Rhode Island’s 2026 Child Sexual Abuse Law (H-7200a/S-2616a) Helps Boarding School Survivors

For many survivors of private and boarding school abuse in Rhode Island, the biggest obstacle to justice has not been a lack of courage. It has been time. Abuse survivors often take years, sometimes decades, to process what happened to them, to name it, and to feel ready to speak. By the time many survivors were ready to act, the statute of limitations had already expired. Rhode Island’s new law directly addresses that reality.

Governor Dan McKee signed legislation amending the statute of limitations for child victim claims of sexual abuse and creating a two-year window for victims to bring otherwise time-barred claims against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse. The new law takes effect on July 1, 2026.

The new law establishes a two-year civil “revival window” that opens from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. During this 24-month period, survivors can file civil suits even if the statute of limitations on their claims had previously expired. This matters enormously for boarding school survivors. If you attended a Rhode Island private school, experienced abuse, and believed your time had passed, the revival window created by H-7200a/S-2616a may give you another opportunity to pursue a civil claim.

The law also addresses a critical gap that a prior attempt at reform left open. In 2019, the General Assembly extended the statute of limitations and gave previously time-barred survivors an opportunity to sue. But in 2023, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that the 2019 law only applied to suits against individual perpetrators, not the institutions or supervisors who enabled them. The 2026 law corrects that. It specifically creates a window for claims against institutions and supervisors, which is exactly where boarding school liability often lies.

All time-barred claims must be filed by June 30, 2028, or they may be forever barred. That deadline is real. If you think you may have a claim, speaking with a qualified sexual assault attorney now, rather than waiting, protects your ability to act.

What Institutions Can Be Held Accountable for Boarding School Abuse

When a child is abused at a private or boarding school, the individual abuser is not the only party who may bear legal responsibility. Rhode Island law allows civil claims against institutions and supervisors who enabled or covered up abuse. That is a meaningful distinction, because institutions often have far greater resources to compensate survivors than individual abusers do.

In the boarding school context, potential institutional liability can arise from a school’s failure to conduct adequate background checks, failure to respond to complaints from students or parents, decisions to quietly dismiss abusers without reporting them to authorities, and providing references that allowed abusers to move to other schools and harm more children. Some of the St. George’s perpetrators went on to work at other schools and settings with children. One was being investigated in North Carolina on allegations that he abused two teenagers while a rector there in the 1980s. Another, who was serving a prison term for child pornography, was also accused at two other schools in Connecticut and New York. This pattern of enabling harm to continue is exactly the kind of institutional conduct that civil claims can address.

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report documented a similar pattern in Catholic school settings, where accused clergy were transferred rather than removed, allowing abuse to continue across multiple institutions including Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick and LaSalle Academy in Providence. The same legal principles that allow survivors to pursue claims against the Diocese of Providence for enabling clergy abuse apply to private secular schools that made the same institutional choices.

Under Rhode Island law, R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-32-5, it is also unlawful to intimidate a victim or witness in connection with a criminal proceeding. Survivors who feel pressured to stay silent should know that the law protects them. A sexual abuse lawyer can advise you on your rights if you have experienced any form of pressure or intimidation in connection with your abuse.

Why Survivors Often Wait, and Why That Waiting Is Completely Understandable

Survivors of boarding school abuse face a unique set of barriers to coming forward. Many were children living away from home, in an environment where the adults around them held total authority. Reporting abuse meant risking disbelief, social isolation from peers, and potential retaliation from the institution itself. For students whose families had made financial sacrifices to send them to a prestigious school, the pressure to stay quiet could feel enormous.

The psychological effects of that kind of abuse do not resolve quickly. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report noted that survivors of institutional child sexual abuse suffered long-term mental, physical, and behavioral health effects, including post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, addiction, and chronic physical pain. Survivors spoke of broken relationships, drug and alcohol abuse, and attempted suicides. These are not signs of weakness. They are the documented, predictable consequences of trauma inflicted by people who should have been protectors.

The lookback window reflects a broader recognition that delayed disclosure is common in cases involving childhood sexual abuse. About 28 other states have either eliminated or amended their statutes of limitations for child victims of sex abuse. Rhode Island has now joined that group, and the law is clear: the time it took you to come forward does not diminish the validity of what happened to you. You were a child. The adults and institutions around you failed you. That failure belongs to them, not to you.

If you are a survivor who has carried this alone for years, Sommers Schwartz wants to hear from you. Our attorneys represent survivors of sexual abuse across Rhode Island with compassion, discretion, and a genuine commitment to holding institutions accountable. We understand that reaching out takes courage, and we are here to listen without judgment.

FAQs About Rhode Island Private and Boarding School Sexual Abuse

Can I still file a lawsuit if the abuse at my Rhode Island private school happened decades ago?

Yes, you may be able to file a claim under Rhode Island’s new child sexual abuse law (H-7200a/S-2616a), signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 11, 2026. The law creates a two-year revival window, open from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028, during which survivors can bring civil claims that were previously barred by the statute of limitations. If your claim was time-barred before July 1, 2026, this window may reopen your ability to sue. Speaking with an attorney as soon as possible is the best way to understand whether your specific situation qualifies.

Can I sue the school itself, not just the individual who abused me?

Yes. Rhode Island’s 2026 revival window specifically allows claims against institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse, not only against individual perpetrators. If a private or boarding school knew about abuse, failed to report it, quietly dismissed an abuser, or took other actions that allowed the harm to continue, the school itself may bear legal responsibility. Civil claims against institutions are often a critical part of achieving accountability, because institutions may have far greater resources than individual abusers.

What if the person who abused me at a boarding school has died?

The death of an individual abuser does not necessarily end your ability to pursue a civil claim. When an institution enabled or concealed abuse, survivors may still have claims against that institution regardless of whether the individual perpetrator is still living. The focus in many boarding school cases is on the school’s own conduct, including what administrators knew, when they knew it, and what decisions they made in response. An attorney can evaluate the specific facts of your situation and advise you on what claims may be available.

Does it matter if my private school was religious or secular?

Rhode Island’s new child sexual abuse law applies broadly to institutions and supervisors accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse. It is not limited to religious institutions. Both religious schools, such as those affiliated with the Diocese of Providence, and secular private and boarding schools can face civil liability for enabling or concealing abuse. The key question is whether the institution failed in its duty to protect children in its care, regardless of whether that institution was faith-based or independent.

How do I get started if I want to explore a claim against a Rhode Island private school?

The first step is a confidential conversation with an attorney who handles sexual abuse cases. At Sommers Schwartz, we represent survivors across Rhode Island and can help you understand whether the 2026 revival window applies to your situation, what claims may be available, and what the process looks like. You do not need to have all the answers before you call. You only need to be willing to share your story. There is no obligation, and everything you share is confidential. You can reach our team directly through our website or by phone, and we will take it from there.

More Resources About School Abuse

• Rhode Island Parochial & Catholic School Abuse
• St. George’s School, Middletown *
• Portsmouth Abbey School *
• La Salle Academy, Providence *
• Mount Saint Charles Academy, Woonsocket *
• Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick *