An investigation into the Interlochen Center for the Arts, a renowned Michigan performing arts school and summer camp, has uncovered dozens of allegations of sexual misconduct spanning decades against nearly 50 individuals, including financier Jeffrey Epstein. The law firm Sanghavi Law Office collected 70 accounts from alumni detailing "physical conduct of a sexual nature" by faculty and staff members associated with Interlochen between the 1950s and 2010s, with the majority of incidents occurring before 2000.
The report described the gathered information as "devastating," noting that alumni reported grooming, flirting, sexual touching, and sexual acts. Interlochen hired the law firm in 2024 to investigate reports of sexual abuse by faculty and staff, later expanding the scope to include Epstein's alleged conduct.
Epstein, who attended Interlochen as a camper in 1967 and donated over $400,000 to the school between 1990 and 2003, had his name removed from a school lodge after his 2008 conviction for sex offenses in Florida. The building, subsequently renamed Green Lake Lodge, has been demolished.
Two women who attended Interlochen reported to investigators that Epstein engaged in conduct of a sexual nature with them. One incident reportedly occurred at the lodge that once bore his name, where he allegedly brushed against her body "over her clothes, in a manner in which he indicated was accidental." She also stated that Epstein paid for her to visit him in New York while she was a student, and she would freeze each time he was "handsy" with her until he stopped.
The other woman reported giving Epstein a massage at his home, and he may have asked her to remove her top. She stated she had no further contact with Epstein or his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Outside of the school's internal investigation, at least two Interlochen alumnae have made allegations of grooming and abuse against Epstein and Maxwell, according to federal records and media reports. One of these women testified against Maxwell in 2021, contributing to her conviction for sex trafficking.
Interlochen stated that it has shared the names of individuals accused of misconduct with Grand Traverse County authorities to determine potential actions. None of the accused are currently employed by the institution, and more than a third are deceased. The school issued an apology to those impacted, acknowledging the severity of the experiences reported by alumni. School leadership emphasized that Interlochen today has comprehensive safety policies and a changed culture, and that the institution is "fundamentally different" from the one described in the report, noting that reports of abuse have significantly decreased over the past 25 years.