An arts school where Epstein allegedly preyed on students reveals decades of abuse

AFP via Getty Images, Jeremy Thompson/Flickr/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR Paul Busch was 16 years old when he was sexually abused by his ballet teacher at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in 2005. At the time, Busch told NPR, he was living away from his parents, wanted more than anything to be a professional dancer and revered the teacher who harmed him.

Busch is sharing his experience publicly for the first time after spending 21 years reckoning with what happened to him at the Michigan boarding school.

"A lot of my desire was to prove that I was enough," Busch said. "That I was good enough and that I was worthy of love." He said that "this was the perfect condition" for someone to prey on him.

His story reflects the larger themes of a sweeping independent report , released last month, that details decades of sexual abuse allegations on the campus of the prestigious arts boarding school and summer camp.

In the report, former Interlochen students recount some 70 allegations of sexual abuse by nearly 50 adults who were employed or affiliated with the school from the 1950s to the 2010s. It's a stark contrast to the longtime idyllic image of Interlochen, which helped launch the careers of performers such as Josh Groban, Norah Jones, Chappell Roan, Felicity Huffman and Da'Vine Joy Randolph.

The report offers a window into the conditions that contributed to the abuse. In many cases, it says, adults were able to have one-on-one interactions with students, while the children at the school had limited communication with their families and were vulnerable due to age, sexual identity and lack of experience. And, it says, some were scared to report what happened to them.

The report includes allegations of sexual abuse by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an alumni and benefactor, and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. NPR reported in February that Epstein met and recruited two young teenagers on the campus. But the allegations go far beyond the disgraced financier, who died in prison in 2019.

National How Epstein and Maxwell used an elite Midwest arts school to prey on girls Interlochen hired Sanghavi Law Office in 2024 to investigate abuse at the school after an alumna came forward about her experience in the 1970s regarding a longtime faculty member and administrator.

In a letter to the community released alongside the report, Interlochen said that today it is "fundamentally different from the institution described in this report." In a statement to NPR, the school described safety measures it has put in place to protect students and a network of resources, including a team of school counselors, social workers and a psychologist.

But for Busch, the response from Interlochen is not enough.

"They get to say, 'Case closed,'" he said. "That is completely unacceptable because — guess what? — my life is still open."

Together, Busch's perspective and the report's observations shed light on a decades-long history of sexual abuse at a school that was built for children and teenagers who aspire to be artists but were often unprotected, due to what the report called "gaps in oversight" and a "permissive environment."

A band rehearses at Interlochen in 1942, when there was only a summer program for young musicians and artists. Arthur S. Siegel/Library of Congress hide caption

In its letter to the community, Interlochen named three former staff members and one former trustee who have been accused of sexual misconduct. Only one of them is still alive — Thomas Clower, the teacher who pleaded guilty to abusing Busch.

At the time that the law firm's report was released, Clower's name was listed as an instructor on the website of a dance school for children and teenagers in Texas. It has since been removed.

National Epstein paid for a conference of top scientists in 2006. His motives are now clear For this story, NPR spoke to nearly a dozen people, including Busch; a witness to his sexual abuse; his mother, brother and sister; and one of his closest friends from Interlochen. NPR also reviewed court documents, a report from the sheriff's office, a recording of a conversation between a Texas parent and Clower, and current correspondence between Busch's family and Interlochen. Clower did not respond to multiple attempts by NPR to contact him, including through his attorney. Interlochen would not comment on the specifics of Clower's case and its aftermath to NPR.

In the fall of 2004, Busch felt special. It would take less than a year for that feeling to be replaced with shame and isolation, he said.

After initially attending Interlochen as a summer music student, Busch told NPR, Clower recruited him from a ballet studio in Dayton, Ohio. He secured a partial scholarship as a boarding student for his sophomore year of high school. The summer students dream of being invited to the boarding school, he said.

Paul Busch during his time studying dance at Interlochen. Via Paul Busch hide caption

"It was, at that point, my prayers being answered," said Busch, now 37, in a recent interview from his home in Nashville, Tenn.

But, Busch said, the bliss quickly dissipated as Clower, a well-known and award-winning ballet teacher, showered him with attention and became increasingly involved with his life. Busch said that Clower requested to be his mentor and that he took several of Clower's classes.

The two met often in his office, Busch said. A few months into the semester, Clower began emailing him. Busch would later describe to law enforcement an email that he called "inappropriate," with questions about his personal life and sexual activity. The report, written by the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office, also describes warm responses from Busch, which he now says show "how groomed I was … and how vulnerable and dependent that I became to him."

National After the release of the Epstein files, why have there been so few arrests? Busch said that because he wanted to do well at Interlochen, he let a ...

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