Broader Child Abuse Report Published, But Specific Failures in Coach Smith Case Remain Unexamined

While a comprehensive review highlights systemic issues in abuse reporting within V.I. schools, there has been no investigation into the specific lapses that allowed Bruce Smith to exploit students for years at Charlotte Amalie High School

A long-promised report on sex abuse reporting in the public school system has now been published. An external review of the V.I. Dept. of Education, said the Praed Foundation, authors of the report, was commissioned “due to an allegation of chronic and largely unreported sexual abuse by a school official.” While stopping short of naming the official, the language appears to refer to Bruce Smith, a former long-time high school coach who was sentenced to 35 years in prison this April for child sexual exploitation offense.

The Foundation’s characterization of the impetus for their review directly contradicts a Government House statement announcing the publication of the report, in which Governor Albert Bryan Jr. insists that the audit is “not related to any specific case or event” but merely part of the administration’s “ongoing commitment to safeguarding the Territory’s youth and ensuring accountability within the school system.”

Discrepancies in origin aside, the 21-page report makes some key findings, chiefly that “the small, close-knit island community created a context where professionals and students did not feel safe reporting concerns.” Those interviewed cited confidentiality concerns, feeling like the risk of retaliation or the leakage of personal information was a barrier to reporting. A complex web of additional factors include deficiencies on the legislative, community, district, school, professional and family levels.