'Devastating' probe finds 47 alleged abusers at Epstein-linked arts center: report

Source: Raw Story · Bias: Far Left

Summary

A two-year investigation identified 47 adults accused of sexual misconduct against students at a Michigan arts institution with deep ties to Jeffrey Epstein, drawing on more than 70 firsthand accounts of abuse dating back to the 1950s, MLive reported Tuesday night.Epstein has a well-documented history with Interlochen Center of the Arts, having attended the institution in 1967 when he was around 14 years old. In the 1990s, Epstein became a major donor to the institution, and previous reporting has revealed how he and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell used the center to target young girls. Recent reports also revealed that Epstein had set up his own lodge at the institution, and was accused by the mother of soap opera actress Nadia Bjorlin of trying to groom her daughter when she was 13.Carried out by Sanghavi Law Office at the behest of the institution, the new investigation revealed that the scope of abuse was far greater than previously known, including new allegations of abuse by Epstein himself.“The information gathered during this investigation is, simply, devastating,” reads Sanghavi Law Office’s report. “Despite the deep and positive connections that many individuals expressed to the investigative team regarding Interlochen, some of these same individuals detailed the significant negative impact of the conduct that they reported.”The law office’s investigative team forwarded the names of the alleged abuser to the Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, though a significant number of accused adults are now deceased, per the report. Having conducted around 180 interviews, the law office also uncovered a previously unreported allegation against Epstein.“One alum said that when she met Epstein and Maxwell at Interlochen, they offered to pay for her tuition, which they did. She noted that they withdrew financial support for subsequent schooling after she did not engage in requested conduct,” the law office’s report reads. “This alum said that during the time she interacted with Epstein and Maxwell at Interlochen, they asked her to Epstein’s lodge on campus, and that while there, Epstein engaged in sexual conduct with her, brushing against her body over her clothes, in a manner in which he indicated was accidental.”The same alum told investigators that she visited Epstein at his home in New York on three occasions while a student at Interlochen, during which Epstein would make unwanted sexual physical contact, and that she “did not tell anyone about Epstein’s conduct towards her until decades later.”In another new revelation, investigators discovered that a male faculty member at the institution had allegedly made unwanted physical advances and contact with a female student. That student told investigators that she confronted the faculty member and read aloud a letter to him: “Can you promise me that you won’t do this to anyone else?”The faculty member, according to the student, “told her that this was part of how he expressed love, and that he could not promise he would not do it again with anyone else,” the law office’s report reads.Per the report, the student informed leadership at the institution of the alleged unwanted physical contact. Within days of informing leadership, the male faculty member accused of abuse received a letter of recommendation from an institution administrator, and a second letter of recommendation from another administrator a month later.

Related Coverage

Daily Analysis

Read the full Parallax Pulse for July 29, 2026 — an AI-powered analysis of how Left and Right media covered the biggest stories this day.

More Headlines From July 29, 2026

'Devastating' probe finds 47 alleged abusers at Epstein-linked arts center: report
Raw Story

'Devastating' probe finds 47 alleged abusers at Epstein-linked arts center: report

Far Left

A two-year investigation identified 47 adults accused of sexual misconduct against students at a Michigan arts institution with deep ties to Jeffrey Epstein, drawing on more than 70 firsthand accounts of abuse dating back to the 1950s, MLive reported Tuesday night.Epstein has a well-documented history with Interlochen Center of the Arts, having attended the institution in 1967 when he was around 14 years old. In the 1990s, Epstein became a major donor to the institution, and previous reporting has revealed how he and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell used the center to target young girls. Recent reports also revealed that Epstein had set up his own lodge at the institution, and was accused by the mother of soap opera actress Nadia Bjorlin of trying to groom her daughter when she was 13.Carried out by Sanghavi Law Office at the behest of the institution, the new investigation revealed that the scope of abuse was far greater than previously known, including new allegations of abuse by Epstein himself.“The information gathered during this investigation is, simply, devastating,” reads Sanghavi Law Office’s report. “Despite the deep and positive connections that many individuals expressed to the investigative team regarding Interlochen, some of these same individuals detailed the significant negative impact of the conduct that they reported.”The law office’s investigative team forwarded the names of the alleged abuser to the Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, though a significant number of accused adults are now deceased, per the report. Having conducted around 180 interviews, the law office also uncovered a previously unreported allegation against Epstein.“One alum said that when she met Epstein and Maxwell at Interlochen, they offered to pay for her tuition, which they did. She noted that they withdrew financial support for subsequent schooling after she did not engage in requested conduct,” the law office’s report reads. “This alum said that during the time she interacted with Epstein and Maxwell at Interlochen, they asked her to Epstein’s lodge on campus, and that while there, Epstein engaged in sexual conduct with her, brushing against her body over her clothes, in a manner in which he indicated was accidental.”The same alum told investigators that she visited Epstein at his home in New York on three occasions while a student at Interlochen, during which Epstein would make unwanted sexual physical contact, and that she “did not tell anyone about Epstein’s conduct towards her until decades later.”In another new revelation, investigators discovered that a male faculty member at the institution had allegedly made unwanted physical advances and contact with a female student. That student told investigators that she confronted the faculty member and read aloud a letter to him: “Can you promise me that you won’t do this to anyone else?”The faculty member, according to the student, “told her that this was part of how he expressed love, and that he could not promise he would not do it again with anyone else,” the law office’s report reads.Per the report, the student informed leadership at the institution of the alleged unwanted physical contact. Within days of informing leadership, the male faculty member accused of abuse received a letter of recommendation from an institution administrator, and a second letter of recommendation from another administrator a month later.