Brentwood Academy Headmaster Denies Rape Cover-Up As Police, DCS Confirm Investigations

BRENTWOOD, TN — In a letter to faculty, both strongly and carefully worded, Brentwood Academy's headmaster refuted claims the school covered up or failed to investigate rape allegations made by a 12-year-old sixth-grader against older classmates in the 2014-15 academic year.

The Dear Faculty letter from Headmaster Curt Masters, one of several co-defendants in the lawsuit filed last week in Williamson County Circuit Court by the parent of the alleged victim, says "Much has been falsely reported in the media, citing allegations that are completely untrue."

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

"Certain allegations in the lawsuit and highlighted in the media are not factual, will be disputed and our defense will be vigorous," Masters wrote in the letter, which the school posted on its Facebook page.

Masters says in his letter than neither he nor, to his knowledge, any member of his staff heard an allegation of rape "before or during the investigation in 2015." That statement seems to acknowledge that some incident was investigated while simultaneously denying any knowledge of sexual assault.

The lawsuit claims that four then-eighth-graders held down the sixth-grader, named in the suit as John Doe, at a post-game party and placed their buttocks on his face and their scrotums on or in his mouth. The suit alleges that on four other occasions, in the tony private school's basketball locker room, one boy forced his penis into John Doe's mouth saying "eat it, eat it, eat it, open your mouth, accept it." The same boy allegedly placed his penis into the buttocks of John Doe and later bragged about the sexual assault, telling members of the basketball team he "f----- that boy up the ass and stuck a Gatorade bottle in him."

In his letter, Masters said the school "responded immediately and thoroughly" when it learned of "inappropriate activity" and took "appropriate disciplinary action." According to the lawsuit, two of the alleged perpetrators were expelled from the school and one other was given in-school suspension. A fourth boy retained a lawyer and according to the suit Masters told the Does, "we can't touch him."

Masters said in his letter than the information reported in the media came only from the Does' complaint and does not include "Brentwood Academy's response to each allegation." BA has not filed its response as of midday Thursday.

According to the Does' suit, Masters told John Doe "everything in God's kingdom happens for a reason" and "turn the other cheek." In his letter, Masters says "certain statements" attributed to him are "simply not true," though he does not elaborate on which ones he disputes.

In summation, Masters tells the faculty "you can be certain of these facts:"

• "That we responded immediately and cooperated fully with investigations by the authorities once we became aware of concerns in 2015." He does not define "concerns."
• "That in 2015 and now, we do not tolerate harassment, bullying and any assault by one student against another."
• "Our faculty and staff are trained about mandatory reporting, and comply with the law."
• "When we are made aware of a matter that needs to be reported, we do so without delay."
• "If we hear of inappropriate behavior, we actively investigate, intervene and if necessary, discipline our students, and this includes expulsion."
• "We work to actively create a culture of respect among our students in a variety of ways."
• "We will respect the confidentiality and privacy of our current and former students."

According to The Tennessean, both Brentwood Police and the state's Department of Children's Services confirmed investigations, with Brentwood's assistant police chief saying they have "an ongoing open investigation." Both departments and the Williamson County District Attorney-General offered few details, as is standard in ongoing investigations and those involving juveniles.

Image via Shutterstock