EASTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — A private boarding school in Massachusetts says it has uncovered credible reports of sexual misconduct by a former headmaster that involved students.

Masslive.com (http://bit.ly/2viFwtb ) reports that Williston Northampton School in Easthampton sent a letter to the school community this week that said it had four firsthand reports that former headmaster Robert Ward "violated the standards of professional boundaries" during his tenure from 1972 until 1979.

Williston Northampton began investigating after another private school — The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut — said it had uncovered credible sexual assault reports involving Ward that dated to the 1960s.

Ward died in 1986.

The letter from current Williston Northampton headmaster Robert Hill III and trustees President John Hazen White Jr. said further details will not be released in deference to privacy concerns.

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Information from: The Springfield (Mass.) Republican, http://www.masslive.com/news/

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