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Alumni say they faced rampant sex abuse on UNC arts campus. Read the allegations here

News & Observer - 10/4/2021

Oct. 4—Seven former dance students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts have sued the institution, stating they faced sexual abuse during their time at the school.

UNCSA, a public arts school located in Winston-Salem, houses both high school and university students.

The alumni in the lawsuit, all of whom were enrolled during the 1980s, say they endured harassment and abuse that ranged from sexual comments in class to assaults off-campus, The News & Observer reported.

Multiple teachers and administrators have been named in the suit, including Richard Kuch and Richard Gain, who the lawsuit says had a reputation for abuse on campus.

The two modern dance teachers lived in a home known as "The Farm," where they would invite students to drink alcohol, and made sexual advances or assaulted them, according to the lawsuit.

The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer do not typically identify alleged victims of sexual assault, but are naming one plaintiff in this story whose name was widely reported after a previous lawsuit.

Read below to learn about the abuse former students say they endured during their time at the state's prestigious art school.

Christopher Soderlund

Christopher Soderlund, who tried to sue UNCSA alone in 1995, was 15 when he attended summer school there in 1983. He was admitted to the regular term that fall.

During his time at the school, Kuch and Gain referred to dance as an act of "sexual expression" in front of him and other students, Soderlund said.

The two men said that being sexually active would make them better dancers, he added.

Kuch and Gain also told students that they could "loosen them up" and make them better dancers by engaging in sexual acts with them, according to the lawsuit.

Soderlund said that in 1984, when he was 16, he was invited to Gain and Kuch's home, where Gain served him alcohol and sexually assaulted him. This occurred again on multiple other occasions, according to the lawsuit.

Kuch also made sexual advances towards Soderlund, it said.

The two men did not hide their relationships with Soderlund from other students, making suggestive comments to him in class that led him to feel humiliated, the lawsuit added.

Other students mocked Soderlund with sexually explicit drawings of him and the instructors.

Soderlund said multiple faculty members, including Duncan Noble, then assistant dean of the ballet department, either told him they were aware of the abuse, or were informed of it by him.

But none took steps to help him end it, he said.

Noble told Soderlund that he thought he, too, would have had sex with Soderlund, according to the lawsuit.

In spring of 1984, Kuch and Gain ended their sexual relationships with Soderlund and began insulting him, the lawsuit said.

Soderlund said the abuse he experienced led to him feeling worthless, and developing "self-destructive behavior," such as over-eating, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

He was told by Noble that he would not be invited back for the next fall term.

Soderlund said he took additional summer sessions at UNCSA, where Kuch continued to make sexual advances that he rejected.

Both Kuch and Gain made inappropriate remarks, commenting on his weight and calling him unattractive, according to the lawsuit.

He said he contemplated suicide due to the abuse, and continued to suffer from self-destructive behaviors.

The second plaintiff

A plaintiff who attended a UNCSA summer program in 1983, before enrolling full-time in the fall of 1984, says she experienced inappropriate sexual behavior from her ballet and modern dance instructors.

She was 14 years old when she started as a full-time student.

The plaintiff intended at the time to become a professional ballerina, and saw the school as a way of achieving that dream, the lawsuit said.

But as a ballet student, the plaintiff said she was frequently touched inappropriately by her ballet instructor, Melissa Hayden.

The plaintiff said she also took classes in modern dance with Kuch and Gain, during which Kuch would stand "extremely close" to the plaintiff during exercises "while staring directly down into her crotch."

The plaintiff said she developed low self-esteem and formed unhealthy ideas about relationships due to the abuse she faced.

After a negative experience at a dance company after graduation, where a director sexually pursued her in a manner she said she believed was normal due to experiences at UNCSA, the plaintiff stopped dancing entirely.

The third plaintiff

A plaintiff who was a 12-year-old dance student when he began at UNCSA in the summer of 1983 says he experienced sexual abuse from Kuch and Gain during his time at the school.

During the summer, Kuch and Gain took a special interest in him, the lawsuit said.

Kuch indicated he would help ensure that the plaintiff was admitted to the high school program, and both he and Gain kept in touch with him after the program ended, it added.

The plaintiff, still 12, moved onto campus after being admitted without needing to audition.

But soon after, Gain began insisting that the plaintiff spend time with him outside of classes, taking the plaintiff to movies or to his home, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said Gain would become "sexually aggressive," touching the plaintiff inappropriately and referring to his body as "beautiful."

On another occasion, the plaintiff said Gain, who had been drinking, pulled over on the side of the road and "forced his tongue down (the plaintiff's) throat."

The plaintiff was "sickened by this attack but did not know what to do," according to the lawsuit.

After the next summer, the plaintiff arrived early on campus in anticipation of a school trip to London.

But he was made to stay with Gain, who walked around naked in front of him and made sexually explicit comments about animals kept on his property, the lawsuit said.

Gain would force the plaintiff and other boys into painful rehearsals, with one causing the plaintiff's hips to bleed, the lawsuit said.

He grabbed the plaintiff by his hair and said, "Dance like a man, not a little boy," it added.

During these rehearsals, the plaintiff said Gain continued to touch him inappropriately.

When the plaintiff graduated, he attempted to make a career as a professional dancer, but he said the abuse he endured continued to haunt him.

He has since struggled with drug use, addiction, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation and other severe mental health issues, the lawsuit said.

The fourth plaintiff

A plaintiff who was a 14-year-old dance student when she began at UNCSA says she was subjected to inappropriate sexual language and touching during her time at the school.

The plaintiff attended two summer sessions in 1983 and 1984, before later enrolling full-time as a high school junior.

During her summer programs, the plaintiff recalled Kuch and Gain telling students they would never find success as dancers unless they were sexually active.

After her junior year in the ballet program, she was not invited back, but was accepted into modern dance for her senior year.

There, the plaintiff said she endured sexually inappropriate language and touching from Kuch and Gain.

She was invited to Kuch and Gain's home on several occasions, where students were given alcohol.

The plaintiff became depressed and disengaged with the program due to the abuse she experienced, the lawsuit said.

She was not invited back after her freshman year of college, and left the school.

The plaintiff later gave up on becoming a professional dancer, and continues to struggle with body image issues, eating disorders and excessive drinking as a result of her time at UNCSA, the lawsuit said.

The fifth plaintiff

A plaintiff who was a 16-year-old dance student when he enrolled at UNCSA in 1984 says he was sexually assaulted by his ballet instructor.

The plaintiff said Noble, one of his primary teachers, took a special interest in him.

But during class, Noble would touch the plaintiff inappropriately, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff said he believed he needed Noble's support in order to receive an invitation to continue at UNCSA the following year.

On one occasion, Noble asked the plaintiff if he had had sex with a man before, the lawsuit said. Noble also told the plaintiff about his own sexual encounters, it added.

When the plaintiff was 17, Noble invited him to his home to see memorabilia from ballet companies, the lawsuit said.

But at some point that night, Noble became "physically affectionate," before sexually assaulting him, the lawsuit said.

Another day, when the plaintiff went to Noble's home to pick up books, Noble was drunk and forced himself onto the plaintiff, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiff left with bite marks and bruises, it added.

Noble also purchased alcohol for the plaintiff and other students, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiff said that he had heard Kuch and Gain make remarks in their classes about students needing to be sexually active in order to be successful dancers.

Another male student told the plaintiff that he was having a "sexual affair" with Kuch and Gain, the lawsuit said.

The sixth plaintiff

A plaintiff who was 15 years old when she began living on the UNCSA campus in 1984 says she was touched inappropriately by her modern dance instructor.

The plaintiff, a ballet student, was required to take modern dance classes.

She said she knew from classmates to be "wary" of Gain and Kuch, who had a reputation for being sexually abusive towards students.

The plaintiff said Gain repeatedly touched her inappropriately during classes. She said she felt "powerless to stop him."

Kuch and Gain told students in the plaintiff's class that until they were sexually active, they would never be real artists, the lawsuit said.

The two men also referred to body parts with inappropriate language, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiff said she and her classmates were only 15 or 16 years old and did not know how to respond.

In her final year at UNCSA, the plaintiff said she became depressed. She eventually quit dance, but returned to it years later to become a dance teacher.

The plaintiff has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, and continues to struggle with low self-esteem and doubt as a result of the abuse she faced at UNCSA, the lawsuit said.

The seventh plaintiff

A plaintiff who was 14 when she began at UNCSA in 1985 says she saw the school as her only viable path to becoming a professional ballet dancer.

During a summer program that year, the plaintiff said Kuch took a special interest in her and convinced her to apply for modern dance instead of ballet.

She began as a full-time student that fall, but Kuch soon began making sexual advances on her, the lawsuit said.

He would press himself up against the plaintiff during class, getting so close that she could feel his breath, it added.

The plaintiff said Kuch would touch her inappropriately during class, and that she saw similar touching being done to her classmates by Kuch, Gain and assistant dean of modern dance Dianne Markham.

Kuch repeatedly invited the plaintiff to his office, which she declined, the lawsuit said.

When the plaintiff visited his house, she said Kuch gave alcohol to underage classmates, one of whom lost consciousness.

On another occasion, the plaintiff said Kuch told her to make her movements "more sexual" during class, and said she needed to have sexual intercourse with a Black man.

The plaintiff said Kuch pointed to a Black classmate and forced the two of them to dance "seductively" in front of the class.

She continued to endure sexual touching throughout the fall of 1986, the plaintiff said.

After enrolling in college at UNCSA in 1988, the plaintiff said she became convinced that she would never dance professionally.

She became depressed and suicidal, dropping out after one semester, the lawsuit said.

As a result of the abuse, the plaintiff said she has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and an anxiety disorder, and has struggled with suicidal ideation and depression for decades.

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