A new civil lawsuit alleges Interlochen Center for the Arts failed a 14-year-old freshman after she said she was the victim of sexual assault by other students and sexually harassed by a teacher.
In a statement, the school said the suit is filled with “false allegations” and the “events simply did not occur as alleged.” That lawsuit was filed earlier this month by Flood Law in federal court and details allegations during the 2024-2025 academic school year.
While Interlochen has been in the news for the school's independent report on historic sexual and physical abuse from the 1950s to the 2010s, these allegations are separate from that report.
In the complaint, Emily Cohen is the plaintiff on behalf of her daughter. She alleges her daughter was assigned to mixed-gender housing, despite her requests to be placed in a living space only with female students. She was subsequently assigned to a dorm suite that she shared with a male student suitemate.
Shortly after the school year began, the student alleged she experienced sexual harassment from her male suitemate after he had sex with another minor student in the bunk above her bed. She also alleged the male suitemate and the minor student made sexual advances toward her, which she rejected.
It was only after months of complaints, the lawsuit alleges, that the student was reassigned to a female-only dormitory. The student then alleges she was paired with a student suffering from self-harming behavior and suicidal ideation. The student said she later stayed in a hotel after Interlochen initially refused a second moving request.
In a separate incident, the student also alleged that her astronomy professor sexually harassed her after asking her to complete an assignment by recording herself using a protractor in the mirror.
The student then alleged in April 2025 that Interlochen offered to improve her grades if she permanently left the school.
The same student previously sued Interlochen in 2025 and lost while alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. That was based on the student's diagnoses of level-one autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety.
In their statement, Interlochen noted the first lawsuit “raised related issues [and] was dismissed. Like the first lawsuit, this one is baseless.”
That case contained similar allegations but did not include Cohen’s daughter as a plaintiff. That case was later dismissed for a lack of “standing” because the “only concrete injuries alleged are the Plaintiff’s child rather than Plaintiff.”
