What's Next For Interlochen Abuse Investigations?

In the wake of last week’s bombshell report revealing dozens of historical sexual misconduct cases at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg says her office is putting together a gameplan for how to pursue justice for as many of the victims as possible.

The Interlochen report identified approximately 70 sexual misconduct allegations at the institution’s arts camp and arts academy over the past 75 years, involving a total of 47 accused perpetrators. Allegations include “a range of behavior by adults affiliated with Interlochen, some of which included grooming, flirting, comments of a sexual nature, touching of a sexual nature, vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, oral intercourse, and engaging in long-term ‘relationships.’”

The report did not identify any of the victims, and mostly did not name names of alleged perpetrators. Instead, Interlochen indicated it had handed those details over to the Grand Traverse Sheriff’s Office and Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for further review and investigation.

Moeggenberg confirms to The Ticker that her office received the additional information, and says her team has spent the past week combing through cases and figuring out which ones can feasibly be pursued from a criminal prosecution perspective.

“I have gone through the report and flagged 10-15 cases I believe are still viable – where we are not outside the statute of limitations – and I've asked for additional information on those,” Moeggenberg says. “The report was pretty vague. It would just say [a misconduct case occurred] ‘in the ‘90s,’ So, we need to find out what type of assault it was, when in the ‘90s it occurred, and whether or not the respondent left the state of Michigan. There are a bunch of different things that factor into the statute of limitations, so I've asked for more information to help me figure that out for those cases.”

In Michigan, there is no criminal statute of limitations for first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC). That category includes any case involving sexual penetration with force or coercion, or involving a minor who is under 13 years of age. Such crimes can be prosecuted no matter how many years have passed since the alleged misconduct.

In cases of second, third, or fourth-degree CSC, statutes of limitations vary depending on factors like the victim’s age at the time of the misconduct, whether there is DNA evidence, and more.

Statutes of limitations are also subject to change. Under state legislation signed into law just last year, second or third-degree CSC cases can generally be filed “within 15 years after the offense is committed or by the alleged victim’s 42 birthday, whichever is later.” Fourth-degree CSC charges can be brought within 10 years or until the victim’s 21st birthday – again, whichever is later.

Moeggenberg has referred her requests for additional case facts to the Sanghavi Law Office, the Massachusetts law firm Interlochen hired to conduct the investigation. She says the firm has been “great to work with so far,” and anticipates no issues getting the necessary information. Once the firm provides the missing details, Moeggenberg anticipates the matter will become “a completely law enforcement investigation,” with Sanghavi bowing out and the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office getting involved.

“At that point, I would send everything over to [the sheriff’s office] saying, ‘These are the cases that need to be investigated for possible prosecution,” she says.

Reached for comment Wednesday afternoon, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said he would “defer to Noelle” to answer questions on the Interlochen investigations for now.

Asked whether she’d consider referring the case to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel – something requested by a local citizen petition launched this week – Moeggenberg says it will depend on how many cases prove to be viable.

“If I end up with five cases, we can handle that,” Moeggenberg says. “If I end up with 15, chances are we may need some help.”

Similarly, she says the sheriff’s office could seek assistance from the Michigan State Police if the workload proves too big to handle locally.

The size of that workload could also depend on whether additional victims come forward. One former Interlochen Arts Camp student told ClickOnDetroit earlier this week that his Interlochen experience – which involved alleged abuse from his cabin counselor back in 1997 – was not represented in last week’s report.

“This [report] is 70 people – recorded, documented. I was never reached out to,” the anonymous victim said. “This could lead to hundreds of us.”

Interlochen has said survivors can still submit claims to elizabeth@sanghavilawoffice.com until October of this year. Moeggenberg says she plans to talk with Shea about “putting something else out there” to encourage additional victims to come forward.

As criminal investigations take shape, civil action could also be brewing against Interlochen. Matthew Curtis, a downstate attorney, says he represents “several survivors who attended the academy from the 1970s through the early 2000s.” Most of those cases, he notes, are currently not viable in Michigan because of statutes of limitations – which are different for civil litigation than for criminal prosecution. Curtis says a bill passed by the Michigan Senate but dormant in the House would change the game “by opening a two-year revival window for people up to age 52 to bring a claim.”

“That bill has been sitting in the House for over a year without a single hearing,” Curtis says. “This [Interlochen report] is a perfect opportunity for the House to act, and I'd urge every member to read it and understand what these survivors went through.”

In the meantime, Curtis is calling on Interlochen “to do right by these survivors on its own and not wait to be forced into it by a courtroom or a change in the law.”

“That means financial compensation, not just a statement of regret or a list of new policies,” Curtis says. “An apology doesn't undo what happened to these survivors, most of whom were minors at the time of the abuse and whose futures were heavily affected by what happened to them, and it doesn't help them now. Interlochen has an opportunity to lead here, instead of waiting to be led.”