Burlington, Vermont’s mayor and the state Attorney General say a task force is being created to investigate abuse allegations at the long-closed St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington.
The investigation follows an August 27th Buzzfeed News article about child abuse at St. Joseph's, which closed in 1974. The article included allegations of regular beatings of children and a boy being thrown from a window by nuns.
Monday morning, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said the greater community failed to protect its most vulnerable members. “We believe it’s important to fully understand what happened at St. Joseph’s and understand why to ensure that it never happens again.”
Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan said the initial work of the task force will be to look into allegations of murder that may have occurred at the orphanage.