University of North Carolina School of the Arts settles lawsuit on decades of sexual abuse

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) -- The University of North Carolina School of the Arts has settled a lawsuit with dozens of alumni, who accused former officials of allowing faculty to sexually abuse, harass and exploit students.

The school will pay around $12 million over four years. The UNC system will foot $10 million of the settlement money.

According to a recent lawsuit from the 1960s to the 2010s, students as young as 12 years old have horror stories during their time boarded at the Winston-Salem campus.

Survivors described sexual abuse, and off-campus sexual violence at the hands of teachers, and administrators turning "a willful blind eye". As those students got older and finally realized the exploitation they endured the statue of limitation passed, until the 'Safe Child Act'. The law allows a two year window for anyone who was sexually abused as a child to file a claim.

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ABC11 spoke with Raleigh Lawyer, Bobby Jenkins, with Lanier Law Group, who represents the 65 victims.

"It gave hope back to victims of childhood sexual abuse who thought their opportunity for justice and accountability and passed," said Jenkins.

After two years, a resolution of a $12.5 million settlement was reached. Both UNCSA and UNC Systems shared statements regarding the settlement.

UNCSA Chancellor Brian Cole stated:

"Though this resolution cannot heal the wounds of the past, it is my deep hope that through it, the survivors who came forward feel our commitment to listening, acknowledging and doing right by them. This has without a doubt been a dark time for UNCSA as we came to terms with accounts of sexual abuse, and we honor the courage it took for these alumni to share their experiences. It has always been our intent to do what we can to reconcile with the past in a manner consistent with our values, and with compassion and empathy for survivors. I am personally devastated that anyone on this campus would have experienced abuse, and commit to doing all that we can to continually bolster an environment of safety and trust at UNCSA."

UNC System President Peter Hans stated:

"Protecting the safety and well-being of our students is the university's first responsibility. Any violation of that trust is painful, and even more so when victims must wait decades for recognition and a measure of justice. I admire the courage and determination of survivors in seeking to right past wrongs, and I am grateful to Chancellor Cole and his team for confronting this difficult chapter with compassion and integrity. The UNC School of the Arts is a wonderful institution that does enormous good for our state, and the commitment to acknowledge and make amends for past failings is exactly what we should want from our public institutions."

"The only way that we're going to be able to stem and to curtail child sexual abuse is if we hold accountable the perpetrators and the enabling institutions. Because if you hold the institutions, the child-serving institutions accountable, then they will start to exercise more due diligence. They will start to have better policies and better procedures that will raise their awareness of what they need to be looking for and what the warning signs are, "said Jenkins.

Jenkins said staff mentioned in the lawsuit do not work or are not affiliated with the school anymore and many have passed away.

An outside allocator will decide how the funds are divided among the survivors, with victims receiving their first payment in early September.