INTERLOCHEN — When the news broke that Interlochen Center for the Arts was investigating possible cases of sexual misconduct during the late 1960s and 1970s, many people asked: “Why would someone wait so long to report such things to the authorities?”
Experts say such long delays are quite common and may be rooted in the way many victims are treated by friends, family members and society at large.
Persistent worries about stigma and blame can also be part of the mix, they say. At the same time, each person’s ability to process what happened — mentally and emotionally — is unique.
“I think there are a lot of scenarios that can explain delays in reporting sexual assault,” said Haley Schneider, advocacy program director at the Women’s Resource Center in Petoskey.
“For example, fear of not being believed, lack of interpersonal support and not being aware of services that are available. In some cases, a person may be scared of retaliation from the perpetrator or just scared of other things that might happen as a result of reporting.”
‘TREMENDOUS COURAGE’
Juliette Schultz is executive director of the Women’s Resource Center of Traverse City. She said it takes “a tremendous amount of courage” to come forward in such cases.
“There’s a lot of shame associated with sexual assault,” she said. “Even though it’s not the fault of the victim, often times survivors feel as if they did something wrong. That can make them a lot less likely to share with other people.
“At the same time, many people don’t really understand their rights and they may not understand that they have been sexually assaulted.”
When a sexual assault happens, law enforcement officials say the timely collection of evidence is essential for pursuing justice in the case. Often that includes a forensic nurse exam at a local hospital or clinic.
Even though forensic nurses are carefully trained to treat victims with compassion and personal autonomy, the exams can still seem “intrusive,” Schultz said.
One of the keys to supporting sexual assault survivors is to avoid blaming the victim or shifting the blame, which can lead to re-traumatization, she added.
In her view, Schultz said, “We’re asking the wrong questions.”
Instead, she added, “We should be asking why the perpetrator did that — why did they commit that assault?”
INTERLOCHEN STATEMENT
Interlochen first received word about possible past abuse in April 2024 regarding incidents that happened at least 46 years ago, according to school officials.
None of the former faculty members under scrutiny are still working at Interlochen today and at least one of them is deceased, they added.
After consulting with the school’s board of trustees, ICA leaders later hired a Massachusetts-based firm called Sanghavi Law Office to conduct an independent investigation. The law firm is not representing Interlochen itself, officials emphasized.
On June 13, 2025, Interlochen communicated with all 13,914 living academy alumni, inviting them to participate in the investigation “with the goal to ensure that all voices are heard,” according to Maureen Oleson, director of communications.
The school also issued public statements about the investigation and provided detailed information on its website.
Regarding the long time gap between the 1960s-70s and present day, Interlochen stated:
“While the reports involve conduct from more than 50 years ago, sexual abuse committed by an adult in a position of power or trust against a student is wrong—then and now. Alumni who have already participated in the investigation have shared sobering accounts with lifelong and lasting impacts. In some instances, they have only shared their experiences for the first time as part of this external review.
“We know that revisiting painful memories can be difficult. We want every member of our community to know that this work is being done in good faith and with empathy. We are committed to creating a space where voices can be heard and where those experiences can be integrated into a robust understanding of our institutional history.”
FAME AND INFAMY
Kalimah Johnson, an expert in sexual assault cases, is the founder and executive director of the Sasha Center in Detroit.
Her organization focuses on “educating the public, raising awareness and providing support to self-identified experiencers of sexual assault,” especially among Black women in southeast Michigan.
Before starting the Sasha Center, Johnson was a sexual assault and domestic violence social worker for the Detroit Police Department. She’s also a consultant to the National Basketball Association on issues of “relationship safety and management.”
Her research into sexual assault issues started more than 15 years ago.
“People who experience sexual assault deserve to be happy, healed and whole, but that can absolutely take years,” she said. “Trying to heal alone can be very isolating, especially in an environment or society still gripped by rape culture.”
Johnson noted that the media is often filled with high-profile cases of famous people who are accused of sex crimes, such as Sean “Diddy” Combs and Bill Cosby.
Even when evidence is presented, many people find it hard to believe that famous and powerful people can be responsible for such crimes because they’re so well-liked and influential, she noted.
“Bill Cosby was ‘America’s dad,’ but our society doesn’t want to accept that he was also a monster,” Johnson said.
“Look at the (Cassie) and Diddy case,” she added, referring to Casandra Ventura and music mogul Combs. “There are power and control dynamics in play, plus plenty of resources to break down someone’s self-esteem.”
Outside the realm of celebrity, the same type of dynamics often act out, she continued.
“People ask questions like: ‘Why were you over there? How late was it? What did you do to entice that person?’ But they don’t ask the perpetrator why they did it.
“If I’m not an experiencer (of sexual assault), if I can determine one thing you did wrong, then I don’t have to help you because, ‘You did something wrong!’”
Disclosing sexual assault information against those in authority, such as teachers, police officers, college professors and professional athletes, can be particularly difficult, Johnson remarked.
“There’s this cognitive dissonance involved given the power disparity. That’s why it’s so important to connect people who experience sexual assault with the resources they need in their community.”