← The Epstein Chronicles
The Epstein Chronicles
Survivors Detail Abuse at Interlochen and Encounters With Jeffrey Epstein (7/29/26)
00:15:03
An independent investigation commissioned by the Interlochen Center for the Arts documented approximately 70 firsthand accounts of alleged sexual misconduct by adults affiliated with the prestigious Michigan arts school and summer camp. Investigators...
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This episode sponsored by She's Every woman knows that feeling. And she's Bertie knows it too. The just in case feeling. Just in case I hear something. Just in case someone tries the door. Just in case I need to wake up fast. It's not fear, it's awareness. And Birdie Box from She's Birdie was made for exactly that. Birdie Box is a portable travel door alarm designed by She's Bertie for hotels, dorms, Airbnbs, and anywhere you're staying away from home. It installs in seconds on the door frame and if the door is opened, it activates a loud siren and flashing strobe to help draw attention instantly. She's because peace of mind should check in with you. Birdie Box by she's birdie visit she's birdie.com that's S H-E-S-B-I-R-I-E.com and order your Birdie box before your next Stay away from home.
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And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. Over the past 24 hours we have received a 97 page investigation about Interlochen center for the Arts, the school in Michigan where Jeffrey Epstein had a cabin on campus. And what that report found is absolutely terrifying. According to that report, over 70 students were abused not only by Jeffrey Epstein, but but by others as well. So in this episode we're diving into an article from the Detroit News and the headline interlockin report finds 70 students accused 47 adults of sex Abuse. This article was authored by Max Reinhart and if you were wondering why Jeffrey Epstein was welcomed up on campus well, here you go. So of course the next question is, were any of those other people connected to Jeffrey Epstein who were involved in abusing those kids? That has to be the next question, right? And even if it wasn't Jeffrey Epstein, whoever was involved, whoever did it needs to be indicted, convicted, and then hung by their feet with the families able to beat them like a pinata. Decades of allegation of grooming, sexual abuse and secrecy at one of Michigan's premier youth art academies were detailed in 70 first hand accounts from students, according to the release Tuesday of an independent report. The 97 page investigation by Massachusetts based Sanghavi Law Office detailed sexual abuse reports spanning the 1950s through the 2010s at Interlochen center for the Arts, the northern Michigan school and summer camp where financier, pedophile and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein recruited some of his victims. The fact that this dude had a cabin on that campus should have been a tell right away. Who the hell would approve that? Oh yeah, sure. Jeffrey Epstein. There's no rumors about him. Nobody's ever heard anything on the words about Jeffrey Epstein. Let's give him a cabin and access to children. And every single person who played a role in giving him that cabin, they should be held accountable. The center hired the firm, which has experience probing historical claims of abuse, to lead the review in summer of 2024 after leaders at the school were contacted about decades old sexual misconduct involving former faculty. Oh, they were just contacted, huh? Nobody ever talked about it then. It's always funny that after the fact they're like, well, there were all these glaring signs and we just missed them. No, you didn't miss them. You ignored them. In the following years, investigators spent hundreds of hours conducting about 180 separate interviews with approximately 150 former interlockin students and camp attendees, resulting in 70 firsthand accounts alleging physical sexual misconduct. The bulk of the allegations center around conduct from before the year 2000 and range from inappropriate comments to sexual assault and and long term sexual relationships between adults and students. And the truth is, this kind of stuff is more widespread than we know. I mean, how many people like Jeffrey Epstein are out there? That's the real question that we should be asking ourselves. And unfortunately the answer is a lot. Now, maybe not to the level as far as being as connected, but there's a lot of sick people out there, folks, a whole lot of them. And unfortunately, some of them have access to your kids. I mean, who sends their kid to Interlockin to go and learn some music or whatever and Expect some like this. Nobody. Not one single parent. But you have to be on the lookout for it, unfortunately. And look, I don't have kids, but if I did, I wouldn't leave them in the presence of any stranger, to tell you the truth. The accusations involved 47 different adults associated with with the Northern Michigan School and camp, including faculty, board members, administrators, camp counselors, trustees, donors, visiting artists and other staff. Oh, everybody was in on it, huh? Had yourselves a fucking buffet of little children. You sick, degenerate bastards. Helicopters, Volcanoes. For everybody that's guilty. In a public statement, Interlocking president Trey Davey and board chair Barrett Rollins thank participants for helping facilitate an honest reckoning with past harms reported by our alumni and other members of our community. I'm sure nobody reported it earlier. I'm sure nobody just swept it under the rug. I'm sure nobody just ignored it. I mean, you guys obviously were on your game. You had Epstein on campus. So that tells us everything we need to know. On behalf of Interlaken, we're deeply sorry for the harm experienced by members of our community. And extend our apologies to those impacted by abuse at Interlochen. The joint statement reads. We also want to say clearly Interlochen will not tolerate predators or those who enable them. Oh, well, that's nice. 25 years later, who do they think they're kidding? Well, for 40 years, 50 years, we didn't protect anybody. But now, now we're paying attention. Interlocking officials said the school had no direct influence over the report's content. The report stresses that the document's purpose is to archive and preserve alumni accounts. Rather than to determine legal culpability or liability. So, in other words, cover your ass. That way, if they get sued, they can say, look, we had this external report, and, you know, this is what it found. But if you have something like this going on, and we have, what, 47 people, 70 people, whatever it is, I would say that there is some culpability and some liability. And considering it happened on this campus, then I'd say that Interlockin is culpable and they're liable. One alum said that during a party at interlochen in the 60s, a faculty member made all kinds of innuendos towards her. And later pinned her against the wall and French kissed her. She told an investigator she could feel that he had an erection. Hell of a teacher, that guy, huh? Another former student who attended interlockin in the 70s said that a staff member initiated an unwanted sexual relationship with her after he wrote her a flattering poem. At one point, the staff member proceeded to have sex with the student even after she said, no, don't do that during the encounter. He also told her to be quiet after she coughed loudly, according to the report. So who the fuck is that person? Staff member proceeded to have sex with her. Just random staff member Casper the Ghost, who was an actual person, right? Well, that person should have to answer for their bullshit. And if these reports were serious and they really had teeth, that's what would happen. But. But too many times. These reports are nothing more than a whitewash. In the 1980s, an interlockin arts faculty member and a student took a trip together and shared a hotel room during a spring break. Yo, who the fuck is sharing a hotel room with a faculty member during spring break? That seems a bit out of pocket, no? There. The adult threw the student on the bed and forcefully had anal sex with her, leading her to later seek medical attention. Hell of a guy, that faculty member. Imagine sending your kids to this place, Interlaken, and then you see this report come out. Find out this has been going on for decades. And remember, if Interlockin wasn't embarrassed over the Epstein affair, none of this would have ever come out. Interviewees describe certain adults at Interlockin as creepy into the 2000s. One student from that time period said an arts faculty member narrowed in on her, getting close to her emotionally and saying that she was really special and was mature beyond her years, the report states. Hello, groomer. Nice grooming activity you're engaging in this
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episode sponsored by She's Bertie. Every woman knows that feeling, and she's Bertie knows it too. The Just in case feeling. Just in case I hear something. Just in case someone tries the door. Just in case I need to wake up fast. It's not fear, it's awareness. And Birdie Box from Shee's Birdie was made for exactly that. Birdie Box is a portable travel door alarm designed by Shee's Birdie for hotels, dorms, Airbnbs, and anywhere you're staying away from home. It installs in seconds on the doorframe, and if the door is opened, it activates a loud siren and flashing strobe to help draw attention instantly. She's because peace of mind should check in with you. Birdie Box by she's birdie visit she'sbirdie.com that's S H-E-S-B-I-R-I-E.com and order your Birdie Box before your next Stay Away from Home.
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episode sponsored by She's Birdie. Every woman knows that feeling and she's Bertie knows it too. The just in case feeling. Just in case I hear something. Just in case someone tries the door. Just in case I need to wake up fast. It's not fear, it's awareness. And Birdie Box from Shee's Birdie was made for exactly that. Birdie Box is a portable travel door alarm designed by Shee's Birdie for hotels, dorms, Airbnbs and anywhere you're staying away from home. It installs in seconds on the door frame and if the door is opened, it activates a loud siren and flashing strobe to help draw attention instantly. She's because peace of mind should check in with you. Birdie Box by she's birdie visit she'sbirdie.com that's S H-E-S-B-I-R-I-E.com and order your Birdie Box before your next Stay away from home.
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In total, 47 different adults associated with the school are accused of some level of misconduct. Epstein's name is mentioned 52 times in the report when while his sex trafficking partner Ghislaine Maxwell's name appears 13 times, Epstein, who attended the school's summer arts camp as a youth, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to interlaken in the 90s and 2000s. Alright, how many people that were accused of abuse were connected to Jeffrey Epstein? I think that's a pretty important fact that we need to learn, right? The newly released report includes allegations from alumni who. Who reported sexual contact with Epstein after meeting him through Interlock in more than five years before his first criminal conviction in 2008. They alleged Epstein used his donor status and repeated visits to befriend female students promising scholarships or career opportunities, obtaining their contact information and in some cases later, recruiting them into his sexual exploitation network. Well, that's a fact. And we heard from what two girls that went to Interlockin that told us about Epstein and his and about the cabin. Most individuals accused in the report are not identified by name, either to protect survivors privacy or because doing so may interfere with ongoing or future law enforcement investigations. Officials said. Well, that's nice. Seventy people say they were abused. Probably a good idea to have an investigation that's led by the police. Individuals who are named include Thomas Clower, an arts faculty member at the school from 2003 to 2005. Clower was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in 2005 after Interlochen fired him and reported him to the police. Byron Hansen, a longtime faculty member and administrator from 1960 through 2015, who is now deceased. John Hood, a faculty member and administrator from 63 to 79 who continued to serve in seasonal positions until 2004. Charlie McWhorter, a former trustee at Interlaken from 1970 to 1999. Many alumni believe that many adults at the school either suspected or outright knew about the inappropriate conduct and that leadership at the institution failed to take appropriate steps to curb it. One alum shared that she could not say which trauma was greater. The conduct of the adult abuser at Interlockin towards her or the way she was treated by Interlockin staff once she reported the conduct. And that's something that has to be looked at. And if it comes out that's the truth, then the school holds a whole bunch of liability if people knew and nobody acted. Time to back up the Brinks truck because people are about to get paid. One alum noted that her awareness of conduct of a sexual nature by adults at Interlaken while she was there added to a feeling that students were on their own and had to fend for themselves. The report states that investigators at Sanghavi did not make judgments regarding whether the institutional response to allegations were adequate. Well, they don't seem adequate to me. Seems like a bunch of actually and just more of a cover story. Oh, look, we had an investigation. It's all over and done with now, though. Yeah. Why didn't you expose it back in the day when it was happening and people knew about it? Why did you ignore it then. Few incidents have been reported in the past 25 years and according to the report, none of the individuals accused in the document are still employed by Interlocan. The school said it has instituted safety mechanisms, including mandatory reporting requirements, background checks, trainings and reviews to ensure these practices are utilized effectively. Interlockin today is fundamentally different from the institution described in this report, Devi and Rollin said in their statement. The school also established a fund to help cover future therapeutic care for for impacted individuals, overseen and administered by an independent third party with experience working with survivors of abuse. Officials said it also plans to commission a permanent art installation honoring survivors. Well, that's all fine and well, but what were you doing when they were being abused? This all seems like reputation enhancement and providing therapeutic services for these people. Sure they're going to trust you after all this, after you ignored them for all these years. Now they trust you and they're going to go see your therapist. Interlockin will refer information about all individuals implicated in the report to Grand Traverse County's prosecutor and sheriff to consider the possibility of criminal charges. The school also said it will review buildings and other items named after individuals to ensure none after whom the buildings are named or accused of wrongdoing. Epstein's ties to the Camp Epstein's financial contributions included funding for a cabin that was referred to as Jeffrey E. Epstein Scholarship Lodge. And knowing what we know now, how creepy is that? Interlockin renamed the building Green Lake Lodge in 2009 following Epstein's first criminal conviction. The school has since planned to tear the building down and the Interlaken Board of Trustees has approved the demolition. Well, that's good. And they should offer the survivors, people who were abused there, the chance to come in with some sledgehammers and help knock it down. A little destruction therapy. Interlaken, located on 1200 acres in Grand Traverse county, is considered the home of prestigious summer arts camp and what it describes as the nation's premier arts boarding high school. It's described as the global destination for artists and art enthusiasts of all ages. Officials encouraged anyone who has additional information about misconduct to reach investigator Elizabeth Sanghavi@elizabethanghavilawoffice.com by October. After that date, reports can be made directly to Interlaken@investigationnterlaken.org alright, so this has been a long time coming, this report, and now that it's out we're going to dive into it at some point. But I wanted to give you guys a basic rundown of what was found in that report and what they say was going on on this campus over the decades. And I have the actual report. So at some point we'll get that added to the catalog. But for now, that's going to do it for this one. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.
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