A number of childhood sexual abuse survivors were victims of at least 16 adults affiliated with the Washington National Cathedral, according to a study released at the end of June.

The Washington National Cathedral is part of the Episcopal Church.

An investigation revealed the majority of the sexual abuse occurred between the 1950s and 1980s. According to the cathedral, the most recent allegation to be corroborated happened in 2008.

The cathedral released a 19-page summary of the investigation that revealed three affiliated schools appeared to have been the hunting grounds of 16 sexual predators who had access to the Close, which is the name given to the school grounds.

According to the cathedral’s website, President George Washington worked with architect Major Pierre L’Enfant in 1791 to create “a great church for national purposes.”

The three schools are:

• Beauvoir: coeducational elementary school
• National Cathedral School: female graduates of Beauvoir receive priority admission to the all-girls National Cathedral School
• St. Albans: male graduates of Beauvoir are provided priority to attend St. Albans all-boys school

According to The Washington Post, the Washington National Cathedral sent a letter to the school community that said the investigation into church sexual assault found no allegations had been made against current employees.

The letter said, “We take responsibility and offer a sincere apology for the abuse of trust and betrayal of innocence caused by former adult members of this community in the past,” according to the Post.

The letter also stated that when the school’s investigation determined that credible sexual abuse allegations had been made, school officials reported the incidents to law enforcement and to employers where the alleged perpetrators might have further access to children.

Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors Find Out They Were Not Alone

In February, St. Albans initiated the investigation because The Washington Post published allegations that a former St. Albans teacher had been fired from a different private school during the 1970s after allegations of sexual abuse.

That teacher, who had taught students for several years in the 1980s at St. Albans, died of AIDS-related complications in 1990.

The other two Close schools were added to the investigation as investigators discovered adults associated with those institutions were involved.

Stewart P. is now 54 years old, but told the Post that he was sexually abused in the summer after seventh grade. Stewart said the teacher had an apartment in Maryland, which is where the abuse occurred. Stewart was student body president during his time at St. Albans.

The investigation’s summary said the researchers found corroborated allegations involving nine former employees of St. Albans, two former employees of Beauvoir, one former employee of National Cathedral School, and four other adults who were somehow connected to the cathedral.

Childhood sexual abuse survivors from their years at the cathedral schools allegedly were subject to abuse that ranged from being the target of inappropriate sexual comments to physical sexual abuse, according to the investigation summary.

The report included allegations against Eric Toth, a former third grade teacher who purportedly hid cameras in a school restroom to photograph students. According to the investigation summary, Toth escaped to an area outside jurisdiction to keep from being arrested, but the FBI and Washington Metropolitan Police Department caught him 2013.

He is serving a 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to producing child pornography according to CNN.

The Episcopal schools associated with the Washington National Cathedral are not the only organizations experiencing sexual assault charges. Other organizations, including the Boy Scouts, other school systems, as well as the Catholic Church, have all garnered numerous allegations.

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