Police are investigating a University of Connecticut (UConn) music professor for sexual misconduct allegations involving child molestation, the Associated Press reported.
Robert Miller, 66, was placed on administrative leave on June 21 and barred from UConn's Storrs campus. School employees were notified several times from 2006-2011 about Miller's alleged contact with children, but the university administration was not notified until February of this year.
The university has also created a Board of Trustees tasked with reviewing how the school responded to the allegations against Miller. The committee and UConn have hired a private investigator for the case.
Last month, a faculty member made a UConn official aware of a student's claim against Miller. The claim stated the music professor visited the freshman dorms, had sex with students and provided drugs. Miller has worked for UConn for more than 30 years and was head of the music department from 1999-2003.
He has been under investigation with Connecticut state police and authorities in Fairfax County, Va. for allegations that he molested five young boys aged from 10-13 more than two decades ago.
According to police, four boys said they were molested at Miller's home in 1992 when they were attending the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford. Paul Newman started the camp in 1988 for sick children and Miller served as a counselor from 1989 to 1992.
The allegations involve "inappropriate touching" on overnight stays at Miller's home, reportedly on unsanctioned field trips away from the camp.
Connecticut state police said the statute of limitations ran out on allegations in the state, but that they are helping Fairfax County's investigation.
UConn president Susan Herbst said the school's administration acted swiftly when the allegations initially arose, but that the school also had to make sure not to tread on the police investigation.
"Allegations involving crimes against children are both profoundly disturbing and heartbreaking," Herbst said in a statement. "Any accusation of sexual misconduct by faculty, staff, or students is among the gravest issues that any institution must face. It is clear that serious accusations have been made, questions that demand answers have been raised, and we will do all we can to find the truth and protect the vulnerable."
The dean of the School of Fine Arts had received a letter containing the accusations against Miller in December of 2011. Several employees were reportedly also made aware of Miller's sexual misconduct from 2006-2011.
A UConn spokeswoman said the school had to keep quiet what they knew so not to compromise the police investigation. Once police had searched Miller's house, the school had what it needed to place Miller on leave.
Anyone with information on the police's ongoing investigation should call the major crime squad at the Tolland state police barracks at 860-896-3200.
UConn is also posting information updates as they become available to https://www.uconn.edu/public-notification.