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Lawsuit Claims Abuse, Forced Labor at Bath College Prep School

Photo: 560 WGAN Newsradio


A former student of the Hyde School in Bath is suing the private boarding school over forced labor and emotional abuse.

Jessica Fuller attended the school in 2014-15 and claims Hyde School operated as an authoritarian system, subjecting every student to identical abuse, forced labor, and exploitation.

Fuller is the only person named as a victim in the case, which was filed as a class action lawsuit to include any students who suffered forced labor dating back to July 2015.

Hyde School is a private, co-educational college-preparatory school for students in grades 9-12.

It was founded in 1966 by Joseph Gauld. It has operated two campuses in Woodstock, Connecticut, and Bath. Malcolm Gauld currently serves as Executive Director, while his wife Laura Gauld serves as President and Head of School.

The 47-page lawsuit claims Hyde marketed itself as providing a unique and innovative character-building education “while systematically concealing and manipulating the abuse and forced labor that all students were required to endure.”

The Press Herald reports that Dana McCavity, chair of Hyde’s board of governors, wrote a letter to the school community Friday, saying the lawsuit’s claims “grossly mischaracterize Hyde’s policies and practices over time or are patently false.”

Four members of the Gauld family are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

The suit was filed Friday by Maine-based Island Justice Law and the Massachusetts-based Justice Law Collaborative.

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