Investigation Finds 70 Former Students Allege Abuse by Nearly 50 Adults at Interlochen Arts Camp

An investigation released this week by the Interlochen Center for the Arts found that 70 former students have accused nearly 50 adults, including faculty, counselors, board members and financier Jeffrey Epstein, of sexual abuse spanning six decades at the Michigan boarding school and summer camp.

Interlochen, which draws young musicians, dancers and artists from Chicago and across the world to its campus near Traverse City, hired a law firm in 2024 to look into reports of sexual abuse by staff. The scope grew to include allegations tied to Epstein, who attended the camp as a bassoon student in 1967 and later donated more than $400,000 to the school between 1990 and 2003.

The resulting 97-page report describes what investigators called grooming, flirting, inappropriate touching and sex involving students and adults connected to the school. The allegations date from the 1950s through the 2010s and range from inappropriate comments and boundary violations to what the report calls "egregious acts of sexual abuse or violence by adults employed by or affiliated with Interlochen."

"The information gathered during this investigation is, simply, devastating," the report states.

Interlochen said the misconduct described in the report came from academy and camp faculty, residential life staff, camp counselors, visiting artists and board members who the report says "abused their positions of power and authority." At least a third of the accused had already died by the time the investigation concluded, and investigators managed to interview only four of the nearly 50 people named.

The school turned over the names of accused individuals to authorities in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, so officials there can determine whether any action is possible. Interlochen said none of the accused currently work at the school.

Interlochen publicly identified four men accused of misconduct, saying the disclosure would not interfere with any law enforcement action because all four are dead. Byron Hanson, who worked as a faculty member and administrator from 1960 through 2015, is the person whose case triggered the broader investigation after seven separate reports of sexual misconduct surfaced against him. John "Jack" Hood served as faculty and an administrator from 1963 to 1979 and continued in seasonal roles until 2004; at least four allegations were made against him. Charlie McWhorter, a trustee from 1970 to 1999, faced two reports of sexual misconduct that investigators say were backed by "multiple corroborating accounts by other alumni."

One accused staff member, Thomas Closer, who worked at the school from 2003 to 2005, was already convicted of criminal sexual conduct, according to the report.

Two women told investigators that Epstein had sexual contact with them after meeting him at Interlochen, with one saying the contact happened at a campus lodge that had carried his name. The Epstein name was stripped from the building after his 2008 conviction on sex offense charges in Florida; the structure, later called the Green Lake Lodge, was torn down after the U.S. Department of Justice released a large trove of files related to Epstein.

Interlochen has operated for nearly a century, sending graduates into orchestras, conservatories and stages nationwide. Its summer camp and academy have long attracted families from Chicago and the Midwest willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars a year for specialized training in music, theater, dance and visual art. The report describes abuse that investigators say went unaddressed for decades, with complaints piling up against some of the same staff members over that time.

The school has not detailed what changes, if any, it plans to make to its reporting systems, background screening or supervision of minors, though it said it is cooperating with Michigan authorities reviewing the report. Because so many of the accused are dead and only a handful were interviewed, criminal prosecutions in most cases are unlikely. Any accountability that follows will likely depend on civil litigation, changes to school policy, or continued scrutiny tied to the release of Epstein-related documents by federal investigators.

The report documents allegations that families sending children to Interlochen over generations did not know about. Grand Traverse County authorities have not said when or whether they will announce findings from their review of the names Interlochen provided.