A statement from Interlochen Center for the Arts

December 3, 2021

Earlier this week, a “Jane Doe” testified at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial that she met Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell in between classes at Interlochen Arts Camp in the early 90’s while she was having ice cream with friends (the pair stopped to talk with her). She alleges that upon returning home to Florida from Camp, her mother and she visited Epstein and Maxwell, after which began a period of grooming and later sexual abuse. No abuse is alleged to have taken place on the Interlochen campus. Our policies, then and now, do not permit unsupervised contact between students and donors. 

Like any number of arts camps and summer festivals, Interlochen presents hundreds of public events each year. Patrons, donors, guest artists, and visitors attend performances and access public spaces during business hours. These public spaces are also utilized by students. We maintain a strong, 24/7 campus safety presence, and in addition to counselors, a number of “rovers” patrol campus all day at Camp to assist with student safety. Per our policies, all private spaces are restricted, even to parents and families. We are always looking for additional measures to protect students, including evaluation of best practices in student safety and active professional development among our residential life leaders. Our focus in recent years has been on expanded employee training and onboarding to reinforce safety measures. Interlochen is committed to ensuring a safe, nurturing environment in which our students can excel. 

Since Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest in 2019, his ties to Interlochen have been well-publicized, which our administration has addressed. Epstein attended Interlochen in the summer of 1967, and he was a donor to Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1990 to 2003. Our former administrators believed that like many alumni, Epstein held fond recollections at Interlochen, and wanted to give back to support the next generation of Interlochen artists. 

When Interlochen administrators learned of Epstein’s conviction in 2008 for sex crimes, Interlochen conducted an internal review and found no record of complaint or concern about Epstein. All donor recognition in his name was removed from campus at that time.

Subsequent to Epstein’s second arrest in July 2019, we reopened our records regarding his involvement with Interlochen. Again, our research found no claim of him acting inappropriately on campus. We have issued public statements about Epstein’s connection to Interlochen, and cooperated with prosecutors and several investigations by the press into the time he was a donor. We are appalled at what we continue to learn about Epstein and his co-conspirators, and we grieve for the victims of their abuse.