The Interlochen Center for the Arts, renowned for its summer camp and performing arts school in Michigan, faces allegations of sexual misconduct involving Jeffrey Epstein, a major donor, and nearly 50 other individuals spanning decades. The misconduct claims come from two attendees of the prestigious institution.
An investigation, initiated in 2024, uncovered these allegations. It was conducted by a law firm hired to examine abuse claims by faculty and staff. The probe expanded to include Epstein, the financier who died in prison in 2019. He was a significant donor to the school and attended a camp there in 1967. The school removed his name from a lodge after his 2008 Florida sex offense conviction. The building, renamed Green Lake Lodge, has since been demolished following the Department of Justice’s release of extensive documents related to Epstein.
The law firm, Sanghavi Law Office, collected testimonies from 70 alumni, detailing ‘physical sexual conduct’ by 47 faculty and staff members associated with Interlochen from the 1950s to the 2010s. Most incidents were reported before 2000. A report spanning 97 pages describes distressing experiences involving grooming, flirting, inappropriate touching, and sexual relationships.
Interlochen officials shared the names of those accused with authorities in Grand Traverse County to explore possible legal actions. None of the accused are currently employed at Interlochen, and over a third are deceased. Interlochen’s president, Trey Davey, and board chairman, Barrett Rollins, expressed deep regret for the harm endured by community members in a public letter. They acknowledged that while many incidents occurred decades ago, the impact on alumni remains significant regardless of time. They reaffirmed that sexual misconduct by an adult in authority is wrong past and present.
Davey and Rollins emphasized that today’s Interlochen is vastly different due to robust safety policies and a transformed culture. Epstein, who contributed over $400,000 to Interlochen between 1990 and 2003, was implicated by two women in the investigation. One reported that Epstein engaged in inappropriate conduct with her at the lodge bearing his name. Another woman alleged he paid for her to visit him in New York during her school years. She described feeling paralyzed when he acted inappropriately until he stopped.
A separate allegation involved another woman who claimed Epstein asked her to massage him at his home, suggesting she remove her top. Their connections with Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, ended thereafter. Some Interlochen alumni accused Epstein and Maxwell of grooming and abuse, reflected in federal records and media reports. One alum testified against Maxwell during her 2021 sex trafficking conviction. It remains unclear if these women participated in Interlochen’s investigation.
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