Former Brooks Student Sues for Sex Abuse

A former Brooks School student filed a lawsuit against the school alleging that a former female administrator had sex with him in the late 1970s and school officials knew about it.

The student, "John Doe," said that when he was 15, then-Admission Director Lois Poirot had a sexual affair with him.

And in a letter to parents, the school admits having known about another issue of inappropriate behavior by Poirot before.

"The claim made by the above-mentioned alumnus about Mrs. Poirot, however, is obviously troubling, made even more so because it is consistent with a similar account of such conduct on her part brought to the school's attention and settled confidentially decades ago," the letter reads.   

According to the letter, the allegation and lawsuit emerged after the school put a call out for any information regarding another sexual misconduct case, that of former headmaster Lawrence Becker, made public in January. Becker, who served as headmaster from 1986 to 2008, is said to have had an inappropriate relationship with a student as well as hired escorts during his tenure.

In the past nine months since the Becker scandal emerged, the school has been reviewing policies related to student safety and preventing sexual misconduct, the letter said.

"However, the school had failed to release this information previously, despite being asked to make full public disclosure about Poirot by one of John’s attorneys, Eric MacLeish, in May," Doe's attorney Carmen Durso said.

Founded in 1926, Brooks School serves almost 400 students in grades 9 through 12.