<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">A blistering report issued last week accuses the University of Notre Dame of failing to take action against a former priest despite years of alleged sexual misconduct against students while he was a dorm rector and while he worked at nearby Holy Cross College.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://news.nd.edu/news/university-of-notre-dame-releases-external-investigation-report/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">investigation</a>, which was led by the law firm Debevoise &amp; Plimpton at Notre Dame’s request, found that Rev. Thomas King conducted a coercive “weighing scheme” at Notre Dame during the 1980s and 1990s. As part of the scheme, he expressed worry over the health of male students and insisted that they go to a locker room and undress to be weighed.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“Once in the locker room he would direct students to undress fully before they stepped onto a scale,” the report said. “Multiple individuals, some of whom were weighed, were sexually touched or assaulted by Fr. King, both at Notre Dame and after he left.”</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The law firm’s 25-page <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://news.nd.edu/assets/660838/report_to_the_university_of_notre_dame_board_of_trustees.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">report</a> concluded that Notre Dame, one of the nation’s leading Catholic universities, should have done more to respond to allegations of sexual misconduct in the case of Father King. The report noted that witnesses said they had complained to university employees about him as far back as the 1990s.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The report also noted that these instances were not the first time that the university had to confront allegations of sexual abuse by priests, and listed two other instances when priests had been accused.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The law firm interviewed staff in two separate departments that supposedly received the complaints, but no one could remember having received them, the report said. In other cases, the report said, university employees who heard the complaints did not understand the sexual implications of the “weighing.”</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1u67kh9" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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