Sometime in late August, very quietly, the Kurn Hattin Homes for Children released an astonishingly vague statement about allegations of child abuse within its walls. Repeatedly referring to itself in the third person, Kurn Hattin announced that some number of allegations about Kurn Hattin turned out to be true, while some other accusations about Kurn Hattin were not. Yep, that’s about it.
VTDigger reported the statement on September 8, but it was posted on Kurn Hattin’s website at least two weeks earlier without notice. I’m sure that Kurn Hattin would very much like us to accept this statement at face value and turn our attention elsewhere. Any elsewhere will do. HEY, LOOK! SQUIRREL!
But I’ll tell you, this had better not be the last word on the subject. Kurn Hattin needs to be held accountable. Department of Education? Agency of Human Services? Attorney General’s office? Legislature? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Let’s take a closer look at Kurn Hattin’s statement about what Kurn Hattin chooses to tell us about the doings at Kurn Hattin. But first, in case you think I’m laying it on a bit thick with all the Kurn Hattins, here’s the closing passage of the statement.
Kurn Hattin is devastated by the fact that any former students were mistreated during their time at Kurn Hattin, and Kurn Hattin is sorry that any child was harmed. Kurn Hattin hopes that this process has brought some peace for them.
Which begs the question, can an institution be “devastated,” “sorry” or hopeful?
Anyway, the main thing is the complete lack of disclosure.
It all started, so Kurn Hattin informs us, in 2020 when “a number of former students… raised allegations of abuse.” The incidents “included physical and sexual abuse.” They occurred between the late 1950s and 2020. “Some of the abuses were known to Kurn Hattin.”
In response, Kurn Hattin hired the prominent and well-connected law firm of McNeil Leddy & Sheahan to conduct “a confidential independent investigation.” The investigation found, and I kid you not, that “some of the allegations of abuse were supported by evidence, and others were not.”
Christ on a bicycle.
Continuing. The probe found that “some Kurn Hattin staff were abusive toward students.” Most of the abuse took place decades ago, but some claims were more recent. An unspecified number of former students “raised credible claims and should be credited for their courage to come forward.” Perhaps inevitably, the statement includes that damnable phrase “mistakes have been made.”
Following the probe, “Kurn Hattin reached a satisfactory settlement with over ninety percent of the former students who made allegations of abuse,” which implies that there were at least 11 complainants. No smaller number gets you over ninety percent.
That’s as close as the statement gets to a specific total of anything — complainants, allegations, staff involved,
And then we get to the quadruple Kurn Hattin finale, which acknowledges that a non-zero number of students suffered mistreatment and that Kurn Hattin is sorry, really and truly sorry.
Well, I’m sorry too, but there is nothing about Kurn Hattin’s statement that ought to be accepted as the final word. Kurn Hattin is a beloved institution in many quarters, and has certainly done its share of good work for the students entrusted into its care. Also, there are many altar boys who were never violated by their parish priests.
As if the statement wasn’t bad enough, neither Kurn Hattin nor its law firm responded to VTDigger’s inquiries. They all must have been walking the dog or something.
The deliberate fog of Kurn Hattin’s statement must be blown away and the truth revealed in all its messy particulars. We need to know the nature of the abuses, how widespread they were, how many former students were abused under Kurn Hattin’s care, and how many staffers were involved. Only then can an informed decision be made on appropriate penalties and Kurn Hattin’s future.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
Finally!
A Vermont citizen, let alone a journalist with a platform, actually had the balls to finally stand up and say what the rest of Vermont’s denizens, silently complicit witnesses, supporters, and culpable bystanders have never publicly stated before in the entire 130 year history of New England Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Westminster Vermont: The Truth!
Christ on Bicycle, indeed!
The abuse and toxic fear is not just history, as Kurn Hattin would have Vermonters believe. There are many victims of the 130-year-old residential school and its abuse and negligence who are still alive and dealing with the consequences of decades of institutional betrayal.
Some are opposed to using the term ‘survivor’ because you never know who will actually survive. Some children took their lives as children, others, friends, peers, siblings took their own lives much later in life as a result of the abuse and unending toxic fear suffered in childhood.
Many of the victims are no longer living, many still have not come forward, and many did not receive financial reparation, nor any attorney promised injunctive relief in Kurn Hattin’s out of court private settlement negotiation as part of their non-independent investigation for which they retained two highly compensated Vermont law firms (McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan and CSC Investigations – Nancy Sheahan is partner in both firms. Partner, John Leddy is Uncle to former VT. Attorney General, T.J. Donovan) to conduct, who were initially retained as early as July of 2020.
Kurn Hattin Homes for Children executive director, Stephen Harrison, MDiv, in his unconscionable, re-traumatizing and substanceless statement, gives an impressive demonstration of that particularly unique virtue-signaling Vermont genius for interpreting misfortune or disaster as victory. Could anything be more dramatically revealing, ….. or pitiful — a man (allegedly) at the helm of a 130-year-old residential school for vulnerable children accused of unconscionable life-altering crimes perpetrated upon innocence, standing amid the ruins of his lifework, shouting – VICTORY!
As the song goes, that they used to force the very childhood survivors they abused and neglected to sing for the delighted amusement of the local Vermont gentry so as to extract financial contributions from their wallets to subsidize Kurn Hattin’s $45million dollar-plus endowment:
“Cheer for Kurn Hattin, to us so dear, we’ll cherish fond mem’ries so far we rove.”
Ever-present Brattleboro advocate/activist, Sherri Keefe writes, “Why won’t they release the report? True healing for survivors and the community cannot happen unless there is complete transparency.”
A succinct statement and fair question, Sherri. So, why won’t Kurn Hattin Homes release the report? They told the survivors they would. Their participation in the out of court settlement negotiation was founded on that agreement and only after Kurn Hattin originally petulantly refused to eventually make the non-independent investigation public.
Perhaps Sherri Keefe should inquire of her attorney, who is representing survivors of the active sexual abuse investigation involving Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS), overseen by the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD). The Kurn Hattin non-independent investigation was completed a year ago, two years in the making.
Unfortunately, Sherri, it appears that releasing Kurn Hattin’s so-called “Independent” investigation will do little to assuage your concerns, as your attorney, upon viewing the document, declared the non-independent investigation prepared by two highly compensated Burlington law firms over a two year period – a WHITEWASH!
Kurn Hattin held itself out to be a safe place of reprieve for children. Unfortunately for many over the past several decades, it became their nightmare. As Vermonters well know, Kurn Hattin is just but one example of a group home that failed the most vulnerable in our society. If abuse and neglect were not passed down from generation to generation in places like Kurn Hattin, we simply would not have the epidemic of childhood abuse, neglect and suffering that the alumni of Kurn Hattin Homes for Children experience today. It’s time to ascertain who, in addition to Kurn Hattin, was responsible for the harm to these children, who were never safe or protected from harm as required not just by law but under our inherent and fundamental human morals.
Director Harrison’s obfuscating statement clearly evidences the need for significant and immediate action necessary to provide some sense of justice for the survivors and ensure that children are protected from harm in the future at Kurn Hattin, or any other independent school in Vermont. These schools must be subject to adequate and comprehensive policies, procedures and oversight necessary to hold them accountable when they fail to keep children safe, and to ensure such failures are immediately rectified.
In September 2016, DCF were notified that the Stephen Harrison’s 15-year-old son had solicited nude photos from a 13-year-old and a 12-year-old KH female resident. Despite the solicitation, the 15-year-old continued to work in KH’s cafeteria and had ongoing access and contact to one of the female students. DCF found that KH’s response was “appropriate”, and no violations were given.
Rather than acknowledge its failures and take responsibility, Kurn Hattin chose to publish a statement that the school is “deeply moved and humbled by the overwhelming number of messages of support and encouragement” citing testimonials from staff, agents or people who were fortunate enough to not have been abused while in the school’s care that “are heartwarming to read.”
During this time, the Vermont State Board of Education (“SBE”) and AOE did not take any action. Instead, the SBE waited until after KH formally relinquished its RTP license, and only after a detailed letter was provided to the SBE summarizing the extensive issues at KH that were well-documented by DCF, on October 21, 2020 did the SBE finally direct the AOE to investigate the abuse allegations and make a recommendation as to whether KH’s approved status should be revoked. As a result, the investigation was stalled by several months while the AOE’s investigation was ongoing and which ultimately gave Kurn Hattin Homes a free pass.
Even now, Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, its executive director, and administration, and the KHH defense law firm of Primmer, Piper, Eggleston & Cramer, continues to impede investigators and obfuscate the full nature of what it knew about sexual abuse throughout the decades. For example, former KHH house parent, Mark Davis was arrested for child pornography charges (allegedly manufactured at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children during his 3 tenures at the residential school) in New Hampshire. Lieutenant Todd Faulkner of Cheshire County, New Hampshire Sheriff’s Office attempted to identify child victims in photos from Davis’ personal computer that were “Manufactured” and staged at KHH. Kurn Hattin refused to let Lt. Faulkner access its yearbook collection to help identify potential victims Davis may have taken photos of while he was a house parent in the 1980s and 1990s. Instead, Lt. Faulkner had to obtain a court order for Kurn Hattin to produce the yearbooks, and even then, the school’s production was limited.
The amount of suffering that many children endured at Kurn Hattin, and the long-lasting effects, are significant, severe and life altering. For many of them, it is hard to imagine that Kurn Hattin can ever be reformed in a way that will ensure that children will be safe and protected from harm, or that any of the agencies set forth to protect them will, in fact, fulfill their responsibilities.
Kurn Hattin’s stated mission is to “Transform the lives of children and their families forever.” If it is ever to meaningfully complete this goal in a positive and genuine manner, there must be an in-depth investigation of Kurn Hattin and the state agencies who failed hundreds of children over the decades. It must involve major reformative and corrective action of the school and restorative justice to promote healing of the survivors of Kurn Hattin abuse.
First and foremost, I am a huge supporter of Kurn Hattin Homes. I grew up in Saxtons River, where the girls campus was located. They have done a lot of good work, and I don’t want to see it lost because of unscrupulous people who found it a place to work and used it as their playground for abuse.
I know of an abuser who worked as a house parent in the early sixties. He molested his own daughters. I do not KNOW of abuse to children in his care, but if he would molest his own……..
He is still alive and lives in Westminster.
For our residents, murmuring; “the leaders that were there, are not alive”, I say Pete Harrison is!!!!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. His victims have been swept under the rug like they are left over dirt. Pete and Judy ruined many lifes while continueing to live their own well to do life. Victums not so much
the abuse that happened at kurn hattin seems a distant memory . while the effects of suicide , drugs, alcohol and mental health issues will live on forever for the victims.
Kurn Hattin staff has no knowledge of the Pete Harrison Grohs memorial award that was last given out in 2019. Why is that??
maybe in the last few years there has been no child deserving of the reward
Westminster residents have been living amongst sexual predators for years. Pete Harrison and his enabler Judy Harrison
Kurn Hattin fined for violating water supply rule
The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that New England Kurn Hattin Homes, the owner and operator of a public water system in Westminster, was fined $6,750 for violations of the Vermont Water Supply Rule (VWSR) and has been directed to bring the water system into compliance.
Many Vermonters use public community water systems for safe, reliable drinking water. These systems range in size from small condominium associations to large cities. Owners of public community water systems are responsible for managing and maintaining the systems in accordance with the VWSR.
Among many other requirements, owners are required to comply with permit conditions to ensure the system has adequate water treatment and to maintain an approved, up to date Operation and Maintenance Manual for the water system.
“Owning a public drinking water system comes with the responsibility to maintain drinking water standards and protect public health,” says Jason Batchelder, DEC Commissioner. “It is important for these systems to be established and operated in accordance with the VWSR to minimize the risk of potential impacts to public drinking water.”
New England Kurn Hattin Homes operates a year-round residential home and school serving children. Its public drinking water system, which is subject to permits from the DEC’s Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division, serves approximately 200 residential users. During a routine sanitary survey in 2022, the Agency found that the water system’s Operation and Maintenance Manual was not up to date and that the company had not completed in-plant testing of the water system’s filter vessels, as was required by its permits from 2020.
New England Kurn Hattin Homes agreed? to a fine of $6,750 for the violations. They also agreed to bring the water system into compliance by conducting required testing and submitting an updated Operation and Maintenance Manual. This agreement was incorporated into a Final Judicial Order of the Vermont Superior Court, Environmental Division on April 15, 2024.
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2024/april/18/kurn-hattin-fined-violating-water-supply-rule
Sita v. Kurn Hattin Homes for Children
Plaintiff Keren Sita and Keren Tamali Sita
Defendant Kurn Hattin Homes for Children
Case Number 2 2024cv00388
Filed April 11, 2024
Court US District Court for District of Vermont
Presiding Judge Geoffrey W Crawford
Nature of Suit Civil Rights
Cause of Action 28 U.S.C. § 1983 Civil Rights
Federal Title IX Civil Rights Lawsuit filed against Approved Vermont Residential School Kurn Hattin Homes for Children by former Kurn Hattin resident Keren Sita – Miss Black Vermont USA 2017:
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/vermont/vtdce/2:2024cv00388/36933
As Vermonters we cannot mourn, because, indeed, it did not happen to us. As a state we can mourn the children because what happened to them, happened not only to their parents and families and friends, but also to us as a state because they were our children and their tragedies, brought about through no fault of theirs, was our tragedy.
We mourn not only for what was and no longer is, we also mourn for what might have been and will not be. In the Kurn Hattin Bulletin, a second-grade girl is quoted as having asked her teacher why God had let such an awful thing happen. The teacher asked the child what the minister had said about that in church on Sunday.
The child paused and said, “He said God doesn’t make bad things happen to people. God’s heart was broken, too.“
Compass School closes, yet a State documented, self-admitted, child abusing Vermont Approved Independent School, $45Million dollar endowment funded school like Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Westminster Vermont remain open – after never being held accountable for one hundred and thirty fucking years!
https://www.wcax.com/2025/06/12/westminster-private-school-closes-after-26-years/
Vermont Cares More for Its Trees Than It Does for Its Children
FUCK VERMONT!
Land of the Proud-Without-Cause.