Barack Obama: School where US president sends his daughters at centre of sex storm
Sordid details of an affair between a psychologist at the school and a pupil’s mother have emerged
Happy family: The Obamas
The school where President Barack Obama sends his daughters is at the centre of a sex storm. The Quaker-run Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC is one of America’s most exclusive, attended by many generations of presidents’ children. Obama and his wife Michelle pay more than £40,000 a year in fees for their daughters Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11. But this week sordid details of an affair between a psychologist at the famously secretive school and a pupil’s mother were laid bare in explosive court papers threatening Sidwell’s reputation. And with a list of former pupils including Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea, Richard Nixon’s girls Tricia and Julie and Al Gore’s son Albert, reputation is vital for Sidwell, nicknamed the Presidents’ Prep School. Scandal surrounding the case is expected to escalate as entrepreneur Arthur “Terry” Newmyer prepares to “go to war” with the school over staff therapist Jack Huntington’s affair with his wife Tara. Their daughters were in the same class at the school. With a hearing scheduled for November, Newmyer plans to sue Huntington and the school itself for £6.5million. He claims Sidwell Friends “allowed” the affair to go on while the therapist was treating the Newmyers’ five-year-old daughter. A source said: “There is a tremendous amount of concern among parents. Some friends have suggested Malia and Sasha should be tutored at home in the White House, but the Obamas want to give the children as normal an upbringing as possible. The allegations are incredibly damning and, if true, bring the school’s handling of the situation into serious question. For the first time in its history, a spotlight has been shone on Sidwell for the whole of America to see, and it’s not pretty viewing.” The fact that the scandal has gone public is remarkable in itself as parents are usually sworn to secrecy with strict confidentiality contracts.
Pricey: Sidwell Friends School
But Newmyer didn’t sign one, so the courts ruled the details could be revealed. Documents show that the affair between Huntington and Newmyer’s now ex-wife Tara Mehrbach started soon after they met to discuss the girl’s progress. Newmyer says divorced Huntington, who taught sex education to Sidwell’s 11-year-olds at the time, started to arrange play dates for the young classmates so that he and Tara could have sex without arousing suspicion. During the affair Huntington sent a series of sexually explicit emails to Tara from his school account, sometimes during class time. The court papers show they were incredibly graphic. It wasn’t long before their fling was the talk of the school and cheated husband Newmyer found out when in March 2010 Huntington’s ex-wife filled him in. Three months later, he filed for divorce. Despite repeated calls and complaints to the school from Newmyer and his family, no action was taken against Huntington. It was only when Newmyer went over teachers’ heads and complained to the school board that the teacher was fired in February 2011. As Newmyer seeks damages from both the school and the therapist, Huntington has struck back, counter-suing for £8.45million for, among other things, emotional stress. Part of his claim has already been dismissed. Bob Woodward, 70, one of the journalists who broke the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, has been subpoenaed to give evidence against Huntington. Woodward, whose daughter is a pupil, complained about the way he handled a bullying incident at the school.
Sordid details of an affair between a psychologist at the school and a pupil’s mother have emerged
Happy family: The Obamas
The school where President Barack Obama sends his daughters is at the centre of a sex storm. The Quaker-run Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC is one of America’s most exclusive, attended by many generations of presidents’ children. Obama and his wife Michelle pay more than £40,000 a year in fees for their daughters Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11. But this week sordid details of an affair between a psychologist at the famously secretive school and a pupil’s mother were laid bare in explosive court papers threatening Sidwell’s reputation. And with a list of former pupils including Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea, Richard Nixon’s girls Tricia and Julie and Al Gore’s son Albert, reputation is vital for Sidwell, nicknamed the Presidents’ Prep School. Scandal surrounding the case is expected to escalate as entrepreneur Arthur “Terry” Newmyer prepares to “go to war” with the school over staff therapist Jack Huntington’s affair with his wife Tara. Their daughters were in the same class at the school. With a hearing scheduled for November, Newmyer plans to sue Huntington and the school itself for £6.5million. He claims Sidwell Friends “allowed” the affair to go on while the therapist was treating the Newmyers’ five-year-old daughter. A source said: “There is a tremendous amount of concern among parents. Some friends have suggested Malia and Sasha should be tutored at home in the White House, but the Obamas want to give the children as normal an upbringing as possible. The allegations are incredibly damning and, if true, bring the school’s handling of the situation into serious question. For the first time in its history, a spotlight has been shone on Sidwell for the whole of America to see, and it’s not pretty viewing.” The fact that the scandal has gone public is remarkable in itself as parents are usually sworn to secrecy with strict confidentiality contracts.
Pricey: Sidwell Friends School
But Newmyer didn’t sign one, so the courts ruled the details could be revealed. Documents show that the affair between Huntington and Newmyer’s now ex-wife Tara Mehrbach started soon after they met to discuss the girl’s progress. Newmyer says divorced Huntington, who taught sex education to Sidwell’s 11-year-olds at the time, started to arrange play dates for the young classmates so that he and Tara could have sex without arousing suspicion. During the affair Huntington sent a series of sexually explicit emails to Tara from his school account, sometimes during class time. The court papers show they were incredibly graphic. It wasn’t long before their fling was the talk of the school and cheated husband Newmyer found out when in March 2010 Huntington’s ex-wife filled him in. Three months later, he filed for divorce. Despite repeated calls and complaints to the school from Newmyer and his family, no action was taken against Huntington. It was only when Newmyer went over teachers’ heads and complained to the school board that the teacher was fired in February 2011. As Newmyer seeks damages from both the school and the therapist, Huntington has struck back, counter-suing for £8.45million for, among other things, emotional stress. Part of his claim has already been dismissed. Bob Woodward, 70, one of the journalists who broke the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, has been subpoenaed to give evidence against Huntington. Woodward, whose daughter is a pupil, complained about the way he handled a bullying incident at the school.