Cranbrook Alum Says He Was Sexually Abused Decades Ago: Officials

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI — Roughly 13,000 former Cranbrook Schools students were notified by school officials of a sex misconduct investigation after a former student accused a former faculty member of sex abuse more than 60 years ago.

The letter signed by Director of Schools Jeff Suzik, chairman of the Board of Trustees Mark Reuss and President Aimeclaire Roche acknowledged that there has been "awareness of sexual misconduct in schools has grown over the last decade."

Schools officials in Bloomfield Hills said they value their relationship with its students, past and present, and that's why they're "choosing to communicate with our community about this difficult topic."

The former student told school officials he was sexually abused by a former faculty member from 1946 to 1961. Officials did not release the name or gender of the former faculty member, who is now dead, due to an ongoing investigation.

"We commend the graduate for having the courage to share his experience with us all these years later, and we thank him for contacting us," officials said.

District officials said they hired an independent investigator, Linda Burwell, to investigate the former student's claim. Officials reiterated Burwell is not a member of the Cranbrook Schools and is a well respected investigator.

District officials also wrote that Burwell's investigation has "identified additional alumni from this same time period reporting sexual impropriety by this same now-deceased former faculty member."

District officials encouraged former students to contact Burwell if they have information about any sexual misconduct at Cranbrook, particularly if they were a student during the 1946-1961 time period.

Burwell can be reached by phone at 800-964-1766, or email at linda@nationalinvestigationcounsel.com.

Cranbrook Schools first opened in 1922 with its elementary school, followed by an all-boys high school opened in 1927. The high school merged with the Kingswood all-girls high school in 1985. As of Wednesday, there were 1,650 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Nearly 800 of those were enrolled in grades ninth through 12th.