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Recent revelations regarding decades of child sex abuse at the American School in Japan (“ASIJ”) by long-time faculty member Jack T. Moyer appear, sadly, to be indicative of a larger trend of abuse at American schools abroad.
In Richard Paddock’s most recent article for the Wall Street Journal “Jakarta School Scandal Widens,” the journalist reports that a similar tragedy is playing out at the Jakarta International School (“JIS”), where six of the school’s janitors were recently arrested for the rape of a 6-year old student.
In the wake of the ensuing investigation and a lawsuit filed by the boy’s family, allegations of a school-wide culture of abuse and pedophilia have emerged, with the Jakarta Post reporting that one former Jakarta education official, Lydia Freyani Hawadi, was removed from her position for calling the school’s headmaster Tim Carr a “pedophile.” Carr was headmaster of the American School in Japan (ASIJ) between 2003-2010, before taking his recent position in Jakarta. (Please note: this blog post is not implying that the Wall Street Journal or author Richard Paddock implied that Carr was directly involved in the recent sex abuse scandals at JIS and ASIJ.)
Further raising fears about the extent of the abuse problem at JIS was the revelation that the long-time international school teacher, and serial pedophile, William James Vahey taught there for ten years from 1992-2002. Vahey recently committed suicide while on the run from the FBI amidst revelations that he had abused in excess of 90 boys over decades of teaching. According to an article on the Huffington Post website, Vahey was allowed to teach despite a 1969 arrest and incarceration for child molestation in California.
JIS, like the American School in Japan, is an elite international school that has extensive relationships with U.S. corporations, and teaches the children of U.S. businesspeople, government employees, and missionaries working abroad. Both appear to have provided a prime environment for child molesters. Jack Moyer and William Vahey were both charismatic teachers who used their positions as revered figures of trust to abuse untold numbers of children for decades.
If you have information about child sexual abuse at international schools like ASIJ and JIS involving William Vahey, Jack Moyer, or any other suspected school staff, please contact us at 1-888-407-0224, or email us at info@oandc.com.
