Ex-PEA teacher jailed for sex assault. Student: 'You used every ounce of my innocence'

BRENTWOOD — Far from home in her first semester at Phillips Exeter Academy, a 13-year-old girl found hope in a math teacher she thought wanted nothing but her friendship.

But in the following years, that man, Szczesny “Jerzy” Kaminski, revealed himself as a predator who escalated his interactions from hugs and hearts drawn on math papers to devastating sexual abuse. The student he abused, now in her early 20s, shared her story in Rockingham Superior Court via audio Friday as Kaminski, now 62, was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison.

“You used up every last ounce of my innocence, and you manipulated not just my body but also my mind,” said the survivor. “You didn’t prey on just anyone. You preyed on the one person who trusted you more than anyone else in this world. To me, that is the most predatory and cruel kind of violation.”

Kaminski pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of sexual assault as part of a negotiated plea deal. Kaminski was a teacher at PEA for nearly three decades until April 2020. He was arrested by Exeter police in August of that year after the survivor came forward to report him.

Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway called Kaminski a "predator" at the time. She reiterated this point in the courtroom before Kaminski was escorted out of the room to serve his sentence. She said children are always vulnerable, but Kaminski’s target was particularly so given she was at a boarding school, many miles from her out-of-state family.

“The defendant knew this, and he took advantage of it,” Conway said. “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated by our community, and will be met with severe consequences.”

Kaminski will serve 12 to 30 years in prison for two of the aggravated felonious sexual assault charges and receive a 10- to 20-year suspended sentence for the third count. He was also sentenced to 12 months for the sexual assault charge that would be served concurrently with the two aggravated sexual assault charges.

Previous story:Ex-Phillips Exeter Academy teacher agrees — again — to plead guilty to student sex assault

Kaminski will also have to complete a sexual offender program and will be ordered to have no contact with the victim or her family.

Survivor: Grooming started in challenging freshman year

The young woman survivor, who spoke in court via a remote connection, said she had dreamed of going to Phillips Exeter Academy since she was in middle school living in Florida. She spent countless hours on the school’s webpage and reading stories about the students’ day-to-day life. She recalled jumping and running around her house when she learned that she would become one of those students.

“I was ecstatic, elated beyond belief,” she said. “Everything that I had been working towards as a child, the long hours spent practicing piano, the extra after-hour Kumon (tutoring) homework to make me competitive in class, had all become worth it.”

In her first week at school in Exeter, however, “everything changed,” she said. Keeping up with studies was an overwhelming challenge, and she found it difficult to juggle her piano practice with her academic workload. She remembered calling her parents crying from the academy lawn, afraid she would lose her “identity as a musician” amidst the hectic workload.

In those dark times, she said it was Kaminski’s first-semester freshman math class that brought some hope and joy. She said it quickly became the highlight of the day as she looked forward to “Mr. Kaminski’s” enthusiasm and kindness.

“I would bound down the hallway, eager to step into his classroom,” she said. “There was no pretense with him. He was so real.”

In her second semester, she said she found her new math teacher's approach to learning difficult and continued to go back to Kaminski’s room for help and support. When she told him she was struggling with her new teacher, he gave her a big hug and told her it would “all be fine.” She recalled the smell of his blue Patagonia jackets he would wear, and how she buried her face in them, deep in a hug.

Kaminski had become her “go-to person on campus” and was tutoring her several times a week. In those sessions she would also tell about her problems and worries. He helped by scanning images of practice problems and solutions to confusing ones.

“I had found my genie in the lamp,” she said. “He was my resource, my closest confidante, the ammunition in my camp.”

Signs of Kaminski’s predatory behavior began to appear as they continued to see each other, but she was too young and vulnerable to recognize them.

“When hearts drawn in red marker began showing up on those scanned sheets of paper, I didn’t think twice about it,” she said. “Of course there was love and affection here. He filled the spot where my parents couldn’t be.”

Tokens of affection continued to escalate. On Valentine’s Day, he gave her a grapefruit that had a red heart drawn on it. “For your energy and nourishment,” he told her. She said her heart "swelled."

She then recalled the first time he kissed her and the fear and confusion of that moment.

“I still remember the taste of the wine on your tongue as it trespassed my mouth the cold stiff hardwood floor that froze beneath my feet, the dark corner of the room in your house that you swept me away into to hide me like a secret,” she said. “My first kiss was the first thing you took from me.”

Over time, she said the kiss escalated to sexual assault, including intercourse multiple times a week. She said at the time she was unable to process the impact of her abuser at age 14, 15 and 16 and convinced herself it was normal.

At the same time, she said she began to feel anxiety and depression that impacted her life on campus. She began showering less and saw her room become a “pig sty.” She became isolated, stopped doing her homework and was “choking” on piano pieces she had learned by heart.

“Mr. Kaminski, the most difficult part for me to remember now is how I blamed myself for the anxiety and depression I experienced,” she said. “It never crossed my mind that you were to blame for all of the pain I was experiencing. That’s how manipulated I was by you.”

She ended her statement by saying that all she can do now is “try and take my life back.”

“I have heard it said that forgiveness is taking the knife out of your own back and not using it to hurt anyone else, no matter how they may have hurt you,” she said. “This is the spirit I hope to lead with for the rest of my life.”

Kaminski silent after victim impact statement

Kaminski gave no statement before the court addressing the assault survivor. He was calm throughout the court proceedings. He said the night before he had two glasses of wine with his dinner when asked by the judge if he had consumed any alcohol or drugs in the last 24 hours.

Kaminski was initially charged with three counts of sexual assault and three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. When he agreed to plead guilty in February 2022, prosecutors agreed to drop one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault. However, when he backed out of the deal, prosecutors decided to move forward with indicting him on five additional charges.

The three new counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault allege Kaminski engaged in a pattern of sexual assault from 2015-16 against the victim during her junior year at the school, using his authority "as a teacher, opera faculty adviser and tutor at the school, to coerce her to submit."

He was also charged with two counts of witness tampering. The witness tampering charges stem from Kaminski contacting the victim in 2020 after Phillips Exeter Academy reopened its investigation into Kaminski.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop all charges except for the three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of sexual assault.

Survivor's attorney: 'Justice has finally been served'

Attorney Christine Dunn, representing the survivor in the case, said the survivor was glad that "justice has finally been served."

"She's thankful she had her opportunity to speak her piece, and now she really just wants to focus on putting this behind her as much as she can and begin moving forward with her healing," Dunn said.

The survivor and her family have reached a confidential settlement with Phillips Exeter Academy, the terms of which cannot be revealed, according to Dunn.

The school and the survivor issued a statement after the sentencing.

The former student hopes to work with Phillips Exeter Academy to bring "her survivor perspective and voice" to the conversation surrounding campus sexual assault and to continue the work to ensure the campus is safe for all students.

“We are relieved that Jerzy Kaminski is finally being held accountable for his crimes and the harm he has caused," said Phillips Exeter Academy Principal Bill Rawson. "We commend (the survivor's) efforts in seeking justice for herself and will support her in every way we can as she moves forward from this painful chapter."

Kaminski is the 12th publicly identified PEA staff member as having engaged in sexual misconduct while employed by the prep school dating back to the 1950s. In 2017, former admissions officer Arthur Peekel, of Palatine, Illinois, was given a one-year suspended jail sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old prospective student in 1973. In 2018, decades of sexual abuse allegations came to light at the boarding school in two investigative reports, in which 11 former staffers were accused of sexual misconduct involving students.

Ann Malabre, founding board member of Phillips Exeter Alumni for Truth and Healing (know as PATH), issued a statement following the sentencing of Kaminski.

“This plea deal holds a particular teacher accountable for what he did, but does little for Exeter’s accountability for what was not done," she said. "Even now, as PEA conducts boundary and consent seminars with faculty and students, the Exeter community is stunned and confused by the magnitude of this latest case of abuse of trust, the disturbing details, and its rippling repercussions. PATH is here for our community, the survivors, and friends and family affected by this. We hope to provide facilitated healing through informal discussions led by experienced and trained alumni.”

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-Phillips Exeter Academy teacher sentenced for student sex assault