Trial date set for Kamehameha Schools sex abuse case

HONOLULU (AP) — A Honolulu circuit court judge has set a trial date for 32 former students who allege they were repeatedly molested by a now-deceased Kamehameha Schools psychiatrist.

A news release from the plaintiffs’ attorney says the trials are set to begin June 1, 2018. The plaintiffs are suing Kamehameha Schools and the estate of psychiatrist Robert Browne, who they say repeatedly sexually abused them during therapy sessions between the 1960s and 1980s. The lawsuit says Kamehameha Schools made each student attend therapy with Browne, where he molested them.

Kamehameha Schools didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Kamehameha Schools was established in 1883 by the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Kamehameha Schools gives admission preference to students of Native Hawaiian ancestry and enrolls nearly 7,000 at three campuses statewide.