Dear Grace Community,

 

In our most recent update concerning the School’s response to accounts of sexual abuse by Bruce McInnes, we noted that four of our former students have reported that McInnes abused them while he was employed as the choir master of Grace Church in the 1990s. As of the date of that letter, three of those alumni had filed legal complaints. Since writing, the fourth has also filed a legal complaint against the Church, the School, the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and McInnes. In the filing, he alleges that he was abused and assaulted while a member of the Grace Church boys’ choir and a student at Grace.

 

We recognize the significant courage required of survivors of abuse to revisit painful and traumatic experiences, and we are grateful to the former students who have spoken up and given us the opportunity to address the harm caused by McInnes’s abuse. We will continue to respond to the legal complaints in a manner consistent with our institutional values and our care for the welfare of our alumni.

 

While the reported conduct in each of the four complaints occurred more than 20 years ago, these complaints have been filed under the Child Victims Act (Senate Bill 2440). This law was enacted by New York State in February 2019 to create a look-back window for victims of child sexual abuse to file claims for cases where the statute of limitations had already expired, regardless of when the alleged abuse occurred. Owing to pandemic-related court delays, the look-back window for the statute of limitations has been extended to August 14, 2021. 

 

The Board of Trustees remains steadfast in its commitment to gain a full understanding of the facts and to address forthrightly McInnes's sexual abuse and misconduct. The Board and the Church’s Vestry have instructed attorneys from Cozen O'Connor to continue investigating McInnes's tenure at Grace Church. We ask anyone with information pertaining to child abuse or sexual misconduct at the Church or School to contact Leslie Gomez at Cozen O'Connor (lgomez@cozen.com or 215-665-5546), Robbie Pennoyer (rpennoyer@gcschool.org or 212-475-5610, ext. 8104), or local law enforcement or child protective services.

 

We have created a page of our website for information about the School’s response to the McInnes abuse cases. This webpage contains links to our prior communications to the Grace community, and we intend to keep it updated with new developments.

 

The values of Grace Church School demand a thorough accounting of the facts and a reckoning with the truth. We take seriously our moral obligation to protect the children entrusted to our care, and we will continue to respond with urgent concern for the wellbeing of our students – past, present, and future.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Sincerely,

 

Olivia Douglas                                                        Robbie Pennoyer

Chair, Board of Trustees                                      Assistant Head of School