An image of a building on Smith College’s campus during the day.
By Declan Langton ’22
Editor-in-Chief
Content Warning: This article discusses both emotional and sexual abuse.
Robert Ellis Hosmer Jr., an emeritus Smith College faculty member, was among the clergy members and lay employees named by the Diocese of Springfield, Mass. for sexually abusing a minor. Hosmer was named along with 60 others in a list first published on May 24. At Smith, Hosmer was a lecturer in the English Language & Literature department for 27 years. He retired in 2016 but has since occasionally taught courses. He taught most recently in spring 2020.
In a letter written to the Smith community, Smith College President Kathleen McCarthy and Provost and Dean of Faculty Michael Thurston wrote that “no allegations from anyone within the Smith community have been brought against this lecturer.” After the College was notified that a list of the accused would contain Hosmer’s name, a complete review was done on his file. In it was a record from 2001 “from an individual to the College, alleging that this lecturer abused him in the 1970s when he was a student at the high school where this lecturer taught before Smith,” McCarthy and Thurston wrote. This individual was Fran O’Connell of Holyoke Catholic High school. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, O’Connell wrote in this letter that Hosmer had “seduced me into an intimate emotional and physical relationship that continued into my adult life.”
According to McCarthy and Thurston, when this letter was first received in 2001, the College’s legal team advised no action. “Twenty years later, this advice seems anachronistic and irresponsible,” McCarthy and Thurston wrote. In their address to the Smith community, McCarthy and Thurston said, “Any allegation of sexual misconduct should have been, as it is now, fully and impartially investigated.” Reports of sexual misconduct at Smith College will be handled by Amy Hunger, the current director of equal opportunity and compliance/Title IX coordinator.
In a letter addressed to the Springfield Catholic community, Rev. William D. Byrne, the bishop of Springfield, wrote that since his arrival into the Diocese of Springfield, he has “been committed to transparency and communication particularly with regard to the scandal of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, religious and lay church staff. It is an open wound that has remained for far too long.”
In the rest of his letter, Byrne describes meeting with survivors and their family members over the past few months to receive feedback on the ways in which the Diocese has, in the past, responded to reports of abuse.
“As your bishop, please accept my sincere apology and my commitment towards working to regain your trust. I am fully committed to doing all that I can to change the culture of the Diocese,” he wrote. To do so, Bryne explained the Diocese of Springfield is “expanding its criteria for disclosure of all those with a finding of credibility of sexual abuse of a minor while serving in the Diocese,” adding, “An allegation is deemed to be credible if there is reasonable cause to believe that the sexual abuse occurred.”
This most recent update to the list, released on June 2, focused on sexual abuse against minors. Criteria for inclusion on the list includes if the abuse was perpetrated by a “bishop, priest, deacon, other religious or lay employee who is/was incardinated, assisted to public ministry or employed by the Diocese of Springfield,” according to the Diocese website. Additionally, the allegations have been deemed credible by the Misconduct Commission for the Diocesan Personnel or the current Review Board, which was created in 2004. The list of names also goes into detail about each individual's employment at the time of the abuse, the nature of the reported conduct, and during what time period they worked for the Diocese of Springfield. This list also shows that Hosmer was named in more than one credible allegation.
Byrne emphasized in his letter that “It is important to note that these are not new allegations. Rather[,] these findings date back many years.” This list is also a living document and will be continually expanded as new information arises and allegations are confirmed. Updates can be found on the Diocese of Springfield website.
Any individual who has been a victim sexual abuse by a member of the Diocese of Springfield is encouraged by Bryne to report the abuse directly to law enformcement and to the Office of Safe Environment and Victim assistance at either (413) 452-0624, the confidential toll-free number (800) 8420-9055 or by emailing reportabuse@diospringfield.org.
At Smith College, Hosmer will not be teaching in the fall. Additionally, any Smith community member who experienced sexual misconduct while at Smith can file a Title IX report on the Smith College website.