PD Editorial: A failing grade for Sonoma Academy

An investigation commissioned by Sonoma Academy revealed a disturbing pattern of failures over a dozen years by top administrators of the elite private high school.

At least 37 students were harassed, groomed or abused — sexually, physically and emotionally — during that time by teachers and coaches, according to a 49-page investigative report shared this week with students, parents and faculty members.

Janet Durgin and Ellie Dwight, the school’s longtime top administrators, had heard campus chatter about sexual misconduct by Marco Morrone by 2006, four years after he was hired to teach humanities. A year later, they received the first of multiple complaints from students, former students and parents of students about Morrone’s “creepy” behavior.

“These witnesses uniformly reported that their concerns were dismissed,” the report said. “In some instances, administrators made the students feel as if they were to blame for Morrone’s conduct.”

Morrone, who taught at the Santa Rosa prep school until 2020, was accused of forming inappropriately close relationships with teenage girls, sharing sexually explicit literature and encouraging them to share intimate secrets. Investigators say he had a sexual relationship with one of his students after she graduated.

The report also revealed that Shannon Rake, a former assistant girls’ soccer coach, and Adrian Belic, a former filmmaking instructor, were fired for sexually abusing students. Even so, it appears that Sonoma Academy failed three young victims.

Investigators found no evidence that administrators met with those victims, notified the school’s board or complied with a state law that requires educators to report any suspected cases of child sexual abuse.

The inaction had consequences: “Rake’s sexual abuse of this student continued after Rake was terminated,” the report said.

Investigators said the school also failed to file or “significantly delayed” legally required reports of student-on-student sexual assaults.

In 2007, Morrone was sent for one day of counseling. However, the counseling session lasted just 2½ hours, and investigators said school administrators didn’t follow through on a recommendation for ongoing monitoring of Morrone’s behavior with students.

Morrone was fired last year by Durgin’s successor. But the reason for his dismissal wasn’t disclosed until Press Democrat reporters Kaylee Tornay and Martin Espinoza reported in June that seven women, all graduates of the school, had accused him of inappropriate conduct. Some students said Morrone was physically abusive to male students during martial arts classes.

The investigation, commissioned by the school after The Press Democrat report, concluded that Morrone behaved inappropriately with 34 female students during his 18-year tenure at Sonoma Academy. The report affirmed complaints that Morrone injured at least two students in martial arts classes and said he bullied fellow faculty members.

In the aftermath, Santa Rosa police are investigating sexual abuse at Sonoma Academy, and one former student filed a civil rights lawsuit. Durgin is retired, and Dwight resigned a day after the report became public.

Sonoma Academy’s reputation is tarnished. To restore trust, the investigators recommended better vetting of new hires, an annual review of the code of conduct, greater board oversight and full compliance with laws requiring schools to report sexual abuse.

As the investigators noted, the scandal at Sonoma Academy isn’t the result of the #MeToo movement or a reevaluation of teacher-student relationships. What happened at Sonoma Academy has never been appropriate. It must not happen again.

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