Independent Investigation Uncovers Decades of Misconduct and Epstein Links at Interlochen

A 97-page independent legal investigation into the Interlochen Center for the Arts has revealed a widespread history of alleged sexual misconduct spanning six decades, implicating nearly 50 former faculty and staff members along with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The investigation, conducted by Boston-based Sanghavi Law Office after being commissioned in 2024, gathered 70 individual reports detailing sexual boundary violations, grooming, unwanted touching, and direct abuse between the 1950s and the 2010s. Investigators noted that the vast majority of the alleged incidents occurred prior to 2000.

Interlochen administrators confirmed that names of the accused have been forwarded to law enforcement authorities in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, to evaluate potential legal action. None of the named former employees are currently working at the institution, and more than a third are deceased.

The report also sheds light on the school’s historical ties to Epstein, who attended Interlochen as a teenage camper in 1967 playing the bassoon. Between 1990 and 2003, Epstein donated more than $400,000 to the prestigious performing arts institution, which initially resulted in a campus lodge being named in his honor.

Two former students told investigators about personal encounters with Epstein. One alumna stated that Epstein touched her over her clothes under the guise of an accident at the campus lodge bearing his name, later paying for her to visit him in New York where he repeatedly made handsy physical advances. A second woman reported giving Epstein a massage at his home, during which he asked her to remove her shirt.

Interlochen stripped Epstein’s name from the facility following his 2008 state conviction on sex offenses in Florida, renaming the structure Green Lake Lodge. The building was recently demolished following public record releases from the U.S. Justice Department regarding Epstein’s widespread network. Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

In a joint letter published online, Interlochen President Trey Davey and Board Chair Barrett Rollins offered an apology to survivors, describing the report’s details as devastating. School leadership emphasized that safety protocols and institutional culture have been overhauled over the last quarter-century, leading to a marked decrease in misconduct reports.

The report comes amid broader efforts across academic and cultural institutions to re-examine historical complaints and financial ties to high-profile donors. Federal court records indicate that at least one Interlochen graduate previously provided testimony during the 2021 federal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of conspiring with Epstein in sex trafficking offenses.