At the beginning of this month, new case documents, depositions and other evidence in the Child Victims Act sexual abuse cases involving Duncan Ververs were posted as part of the public court record. You can access them here, though we wouldn't recommend doing so unless you are fully prepared for the trauma and devastation they contain.

There is so much to unpack in these documents that multiple books could be written about them. We will continue to work through them and to analyze their content as we are able. For now, here is just one of the shattering revelations:

One survivor testified that she told Brighton gym teacher and gymnastics coach Jill Freeman in the 1990s about the sexual abuse that she experienced at the hands of Duncan Ververs — more than a decade after it occurred. According to this survivor, Freeman cried, hugged her, and told her how sorry she was about what had happened. 

At the time of this disclosure, both Freeman and Ververs remained employed at BCSD. Having heard a firsthand description of Ververs' abuse, Freeman clearly should have made a prompt official report to her superiors due to the ongoing danger Ververs posed to BCSD students in his care. But the available evidence suggests that she did not. Though Freeman admits to her conversation with the survivor in her 2025 deposition testimony, she appears to downplay its significance: "She may have mentioned something about — something with Duncan... I don't think she was specific in what she was telling me." 

Following the survivor's stated disclosure to Freeman, Duncan Ververs stayed at BCSD and almost certainly retained close access to hundreds of minor BSCD students. Ververs remained a BCSD employee until early 2001, at which point the school board permitted him to "retire" mid-year after students reported him for sexual misconduct. 

As of this year, Ververs continues to receive retirement benefits from the school district, and he is still honored on the BCSD website as a recipient of the "PTSA Honorary Lifetime Membership Award."