Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit [2025 Update]

The Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Is An Active Lawsuit

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Private and public schools in Pennsylvania are at the center of multiple sexual abuse lawsuits. Survivors have recently come forward with allegations of institutionally sanctioned or covered-up abuse, some of which date back as far as the 1950s. Institutions named include Solebury School, Perkiomen School, Valley Forge Military Academy, and Girard College.

These allegations, along with grand jury investigations, have led to several proposed changes to the Commonwealth’s laws that would greatly extend the statute of limitations for criminal and civil sexual abuse cases, particularly when underage victims are involved.

Victims of sexual abuse at Pennsylvania schools have come forward and filed lawsuits. Through these lawsuits, the institutions that enabled the abuse may be held accountable for their negligence.

Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Updates

June 11, 2025: PA Public Schools Not Immune To Lawsuits If They Fail To Prevent Student-on-Student Sexual Abuse

A seven-judge panel rules that a sexual abuse lawsuit against a Philadelphia High School could move forward. Public agencies, including schools, in Pennsylvania generally face limited liability under existing law, capping damages at $500,000. Sexual assault is exempt, however, if the incident in question would be considered a criminal act under Commonwealth law. The defense had argued that the exemption only applies to cases in which the abuse was perpetrated by faculty or staff.

December 16, 2024: Parents Of Molested Boy File Suit Against Perkiomen School

The family of a 7-year-old boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 12-year-old boy on campus sues Perkiomen School over security failures. Neither boy was a Perkiomen student; rather, they were children of faculty members. The lawsuit cites failure to maintain and monitor the security system on campus, which allowed the abuse to go undetected. The 12-year-old boy was also allegedly allowed to continue attending school events after the incident was reported.

April 16, 2024: Police Arrest Retired Girard College Teacher For Unwanted Sexual Contact

Keith Steininger, a former teacher at Girard College and Boy Scout troop leader, is charged for sexually abusing a child between 2018 and 2022. Given the length of Steininger’s tenure, police suspect he may have had additional victims.

November 26, 2019: Hazing Victim Files Lawsuit Against Valley Forge Military Academy

John Doe, the anonymous victim of an infamous 2017 “toothpasting” assault at Valley Forge Military Academy, files suit against the institution. Doe’s lawsuit describes a school environment that tolerated and covered up abuse of students while punishing whistleblowers.

April 23, 2019: Pennsylvania Extends Statutes Of Limitations For Some Childhood Sexual Assaults

Gov. Tom Wolf signs into law legislation that modifies existing statutes of limitations on sexual abuse. The law eliminates the statute of limitations on criminal charges in cases where the victim was under 18 and subjected to major abuse. The statute of limitations for civil suits was extended from age 30 to age 55. While the law protects future victims, the changes do not apply retroactively to incidents that happened before 2019.

August 14, 2018: Grand Jury Investigation Finds Over 1,000 Cases Of Sexual Abuse Involving Catholic Priests In Pennsylvania

A report by a Pennsylvania grand jury estimates that more than 300 clergy members were engaged in sexual abuse of minors in the state since 1940. The report counted over 1,000 victims based on church records, but estimates the actual number of victims to be substantially higher. Of the suspected perpetrators, over 100 are deceased. Of the living suspects, only two were able to be charged due to the statute of limitations having run out.

February 1, 2017: Grand Jury Finds Solebury School Covered Up Decades Of Abuse

A grand jury report finds that Solebury School repeatedly failed to report sexual abuse that occurred on campus. The investigation found nine teachers and staff members believed to have had sexual relationships with students. Only one of the perpetrators was still eligible to be prosecuted.

About the Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit:

About the Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Crisis

Sexual abuse and assault are all too common at public, private, and religious schools across Pennsylvania. Sexual abuse is committed against students by teachers, other students, staff, transportation workers, contractors, and other school personnel. In many cases, students who are abused at Pennsylvania schools are not taken seriously by school administrators. Perpetrators of abuse often face few to no consequences.

Sexual abuse in Pennsylvania schools is especially common at private institutions. Pennsylvania is home to hundreds of private/non-public schools. These types of schools are often immersive and self-contained. Boarding schools, in particular, create a contained environment in which children may have limited contact with the outside world, leaving them vulnerable to failures of oversight within the institution.

The problem cuts across ideological lines, with military academies, religious schools, boarding schools, and public schools named in sexual abuse lawsuits. Sexual predators at these schools were allowed to operate, largely unchecked, for years or even decades. Victims of abuse at private schools often don’t come forward until many years later; the Pennsylvania Office of Victim Advocate pegs the median age of disclosure at 48.

Pennsylvania Schools Implicated in the Sexual Abuse Cases

Multiple schools in Pennsylvania have been implicated in sexual abuse cases. Each of these cases involves unique circumstances, but in each, the institution failed to address the abuse. In some cases, the school allegedly attempted to cover up the abuse, a betrayal of the institution’s mission and duty to its students.

Among the schools implicated are Solebury School, Perkiomen School, Valley Forge Military Academy, and Girard College.

Solebury School Located in Solebury Township, PA

In 2017, a grand jury investigation of Solebury School, a progressive boarding and day school, northeast of Philadelphia. The investigation found that the school may have covered up sexual abuse on site for over 50 years. The grand jury heard from six victims who testified that their complaints were heard by the headmaster but never investigated. While the grand jury identified nine Solebury teachers suspected of having sexual relationships with students, the statute of limitations had expired for prosecuting most of the cases.

Previously, in the 1990s, Solebury School had been the site of a sexual abuse case involving music teacher David Chadwick and a teenage student. Chadwick was 25 at the time. School administrators, after hearing rumors of the relationship, did not report the situation to police. Instead, administrators allowed Chadwick to leave quietly for another teaching job. After the victim came forward two years later, Chadwick pled guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison. During his case, Chadwick testified that he had heard rumors that other teachers who had committed similar crimes had also been quietly asked to leave in the past. Solebury School settled a civil complaint with the victim for $700,000 in 1998.

Perkiomen School Located in Pennsburg, PA

Perkiomen School, another prestigious boarding school, has also come under investigation for sexual assaults involving children on campus. One such case involves a February 2024 incident where a 7-year-old boy was allegedly trapped in a closet and sexually assaulted by a 12-year-old boy. Both children were children of faculty members. During the case, the school was accused of security failures, including broken cameras, locks, and key cards. The 12-year old was barred from campus, but allegedly allowed to play near Perkiomen housing.

The resulting lawsuit also noted other allegations of sexual assault on campus, including the assault of two female students by a male student.

Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) Located in Wayne, PA

Valley Forge Military Academy has been accused of covering up sexual assault and extreme hazing incidents on campus. One notable case from 2017 involving an anonymous victim, John Doe, describes an incident in which fellow students attempted to sodomize him with a lacrosse stick in a hazing ritual known as “toothpasting.” He also describes incidents in which he was beaten and waterboarded, and describes a culture in which victims who complain to administrators were punished.

Earlier in 2015, VFMAC’s Title-IX officer, Robert Wood, blew the whistle on the academy. Woods claimed the school had routinely been mishandling allegations of abuse on campus. He also said he was threatened by the administration when he attempted to investigate the cases. The school’s records show at least 30 allegations of sexual abuse on campus between 2015 and 2020, ranging from stalking to rape. Reform efforts under Col. Walt Lord, who was appointed VFMAC’s president in 2018, reportedly met resistance from the board of trustees. He resigned less than a year later.

Girard College Located in Philadelphia, PA

Girard College, a boarding school for children from single-parent or guardian families, has been the subject of sexual abuse complaints. The school is known for having an abusive environment.

In 2024, a former Girard College teacher, Keith Steininger, was charged with sexually abusing a former student. Authorities believe there may be additional victims involved as Steininger admitted to liking “to show physical affection to children,” and had regular contact with minors over the course of his 40-year career.

Girard College was also the subject of a 2001 lawsuit. Rosalind Moore had sued Girard College for injuries her son had sustained while boarding at the school. The defendants in the case, which included Girard and Board of Directors of City Trusts, successfully blocked the case by pleading sovereign immunity, claiming that Girard College and its administration had no independent legal existence apart from the Board of City Trusts, a Commonwealth agency.

Other School Sexual Abuse Cases in Pennsylvania

Other schools in Pennsylvania have also recently come under fire for sexual abuse. Early in 2025, four former female students filed a civil complaint accusing the Williamsport Area School District and a teacher of failing to intervene in sexual abuse perpetrated by Christopher P. Yoder, another teacher. Just months later, a panel of judges ruled that a disabled student who was sexually assaulted in a Philadelphia high school can sue the school district under an exception to sovereign immunity.

These and similar cases throughout the state have increased calls to reform the Commonwealth’s approach to sexual abuse cases and hold educational institutions accountable for failing to protect students.

How Pennsylvania Schools Failed to Protect Students

Despite the differences in the details of these sex abuse cases, the one thing they all have in common is a pattern of failure on the part of Pennsylvania schools to protect students.

Ways school administrators and boards failed to protect students include

• Dismissing and ignoring student complaints
• Covering up abuse
• Lax screening standards for school personnel
• Poor security, including a lack of adult oversight and school security systems
• Retaliating against victims who reported their abuse
• Failing to properly discipline students who committed abuse
• Failing to record sexual misconduct by staff, allowing the practice of “passing the trash” to other districts
• Failing to involve law enforcement
• Allowing hazing and other rituals to occur, even when sexual assault was included
• Putting the school’s reputation above student safety

These practices made it easier for predators to operate on their campuses. These factors have led to a reexamination of Pennsylvania’s statutes of limitations on criminal and civil sex abuse cases.

Failure to Screen and Supervise Faculty and Staff

Many of Pennsylvania’s schools did not take adequate steps to screen new hires and adequately supervise faculty and staff. Additionally, staff members who were found to be abusing children were often allowed to resign. This allowed perpetrators to simply move to another district and abuse children there.

These failures made it easier for predators to operate. Some examples of people committing sexual abuse at school for decades include:

• Solebury School has a 50-year history of teachers having sexual relationships with underage students, suggesting inadequate measures at both the hiring and operational levels.
• Keith Steininger worked at Girard College for over 40 years and may have sexually abused multiple students during that time.
• Valley Forge Military Academy and College allowed cadets to discipline each other and had a culture of punishing individuals who reported misconduct.

Ignoring and Dismissing Student Complaints

Not only did these institutions fail at the level of detecting wrongdoing, but they also failed to take complaints brought to their attention by students seriously. This culture of disbelief had a chilling effect on students coming forward.

• Solebury School victims who made complaints to administrators were ignored, at least at the level of formal process (see below).
• Students who complained to Valley Forge administrators claimed whistleblowers often faced retaliation.
• The families involved in the Perkiomen School abuse cases claim the school delayed its response to complaints for months.

Cover-Ups and Reassignments of Abusers

When administrators did take action, it was often done in such a way as to avoid negative publicity and preserve the institution’s reputation. The schools often suppressed the abuse claims by not reporting them in a timely fashion, not taking them seriously, or quietly attempting to separate the parties involved.

• Solebury School allowed David Chadwick to quietly resign rather than face charges. Chadwick testified that he was not the first.
• Perkiomen School banned the child accused of sexual abuse from the campus, but did not take further action. The child was still allowed to play near the campus.
• Valley Forge’s Title-IX officer was threatened by the administration when he attempted to investigate abuse allegations.

Lack of Mandatory Reporting to Pennsylvania Authorities

Private schools in Pennsylvania frequently avoided involving Commonwealth authorities, and some had no internal policies requiring that sexual abuse be reported. This led to a hodge-podge of half-measures and discretionary responses that failed to provide adequate protection for their students.

• Solebury School failed to report numerous cases to Pennsylvania authorities.
• Valley Forge Military Academy and College had a pattern of handling abuse and hazing cases internally.
• Perkiomen School did not contact families or authorities until months had passed.

Prioritizing the School’s Reputation Over Student Safety

Many schools, especially private institutions that rely on tuition for revenue, were afraid of acknowledging abuse. They feared that action on sexual assault complaints would tarnish the school’s reputation and affect financials. This practice puts students in danger in order to protect school revenue.

Preservation of institutional reputation took precedence over the safety of students, whether through Solebury School’s decades of silence, Girard College’s invocation of sovereign immunity, or Valley Forge’s resistance to reform. Rather than being responsive to allegations as they occurred, the schools sought to maintain a facade wherein sexual abuse simply didn’t occur on campus. This priority created institutional resistance to dealing with accusations properly as they arose.

Who Can File a Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit?

Victims who suffered sexual abuse in Pennsylvania schools may be able to sue those institutions for damages. However, these cases need to be filed within Pennsylvania’s legal filing deadlines, called statutes of limitations. Recent reforms have extended that window substantially, and a 2025 ruling provides exceptions to sovereign immunity for public schools that failed to protect children from sexual abuse.

You may be able to file a Pennsylvania school sexual abuse civil lawsuit if you:

• Attended a school in Pennsylvania
• Were sexually abused by faculty, staff, or students, or another individual while on campus
• Were under the age of 18 when the abuse occurred and are currently under 55 years old

Note that House Bill 462 extends a retroactive two-year window for survivors who were blocked by the previous statute of limitations to come forward. Currently, the bill has passed the House but awaits Senate approval.

There is currently no statute of limitations on pressing criminal sexual abuse charges for victims who were under 18 at the time. Victims who were adults at the time of the abuse fall under different civil and criminal statutes of limitations.

Compensation Available to Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Victims

Victims of Pennsylvania school sexual abuse may be entitled to compensation. A sexual assault’s legacy can affect a victim long after the incident occurred. With that in mind, compensation may be awarded to cover a variety of damages associated with sexual abuse, such as medical expenses, therapy, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Punitive damages may also be awarded. For example, if the institution is found to have acted with negligence, a survivor may be awarded compensation through punitive damages.

How to File a Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

Filing a sexual abuse lawsuit in Pennsylvania can be complex, even after accounting for recent state-level reforms. Such cases can be further complicated by the amount of time that may have passed since the incident, making it harder to gather evidence and depositions. Having a lawyer experienced in civil sex abuse cases evaluate your case is a good first step.

Here is what the typical process will look like for filing a Pennsylvania school sexual abuse lawsuit:

1. Get a free case evaluation with an experienced attorney and their legal team.
2. Hire an attorney to guide and represent you through the process.
3. Gather evidence to support your case.
4. File the lawsuit within the statute of limitations.
5. Negotiate with the defense and share evidence.
6. If a settlement cannot be reached, proceed to litigation.

The partners at King Law can help clients through every stage of this process. Our team has experience representing sexual assault victims in criminal and civil lawsuits. We know how to fight for the justice survivors deserve.

What Is the Deadline to File a Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit?

Sexual abuse lawsuits in Pennsylvania, as well as criminal charges, need to be filed within the statute of limitations. Recent reforms to Pennsylvania’s law have extended the statute of limitations for some victims. Additionally, a 2025 Commonwealth Court ruling now allows victims to sue schools for student-on-student abuse when institutional negligence is involved.

Statutes of limitations in Pennsylvania for civil lawsuits regarding child sex abuse are as follows:

• Victims who were under 18 at the time of abuse have until age 55 to file a civil lawsuit.
• Victims over age 18 have 12 years to file a civil lawsuit for major sexual assault.

Given the complexity of the law, as well as the potential for further reforms, it is wise to consult with an attorney to make sure you know which statute of limitations applies to your case. If you are unsure, your legal team can help you understand your legal options.

Estimated Settlement Amounts in the Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

Compensation awarded in Pennsylvania sexual abuse cases can vary enormously depending on factors like the extent of the abuse, the amount of wrongdoing on behalf of the institution, the institution’s willingness to settle, and the strength of your case’s evidence. King Law estimates most awards will be within the range of $500,000 to $2 million, although individual settlements or court decisions could fall well outside of that range.

King Law Is Accepting Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Claims

King Law is actively reviewing sexual abuse cases at Pennsylvania schools. Our firm and legal partners have decades of experience helping victims of sexual abuse seek justice, including for incidents that took place far in the past. Our partners can provide counsel and representation at each stage of your lawsuit. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t get paid unless you do.

Contact a Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawyer Today

Working with an attorney experienced in highly traumatic and complex cases can help you receive the compensation and closure you need. Our team knows how to handle litigation involving complex institutions. We will handle your claim with compassion and care and fight for what you deserve. Contact King Law at (585) 496-2648 for a free, confidential consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)