Jamie Forbes felt relief. After a decades-long ordeal, the teacher he said sexually abused him more than 35 years ago stood before a judge in district court Wednesday, charged with six counts of child rape.
"I was terrified and confused," Forbes told NBC10 Boston last year.
Forbes is taking time to wrap his head around everything right now, and to be with his family.
But NBC10 Boston wanted to share his thoughts from when he first decided to come forward.
Forbes said the first time Rey Buono touched him was on a school bike trip through Italy. He was 14. Buono, a beloved drama teacher at Milton Academy, was 36.
"All of a sudden, his hand started roaming around on my body," Forbes said. "It was ... What did I do to make him think I'd be interested?"
Fear and shame held him hostage. The alleged abuse continued for another six months at Buono's on-campus apartment.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
When Forbes finally told his mom, she went to the administration, but Buono kept his job. He wasn't fired until five years later, when Milton said he admitted to sexual misconduct.
Forbes said he didn't think much about the hurt that Milton Academy decided not to fire Buono.
"I guess I didn't think too much about it because I was just trying to get through every day," Forbes said. "The abuse stopped, and that's what I cared about."
Buono has been living in southeast Asia teaching theater since he was fired.
Federal authorities tracked him down and Wednesday, he faced a judge in Massachusetts. He pleaded not guilty to rape of a child and rape of a child with force.
Forbes is glad he stepped forward to tell his story.
"This is something that happens in the shadows," he said. "It happens behind closed doors. It happens when no one's looking, so it's more subtle, more insidious and it's harder to know."
Milton Academy has admitted that the headmaster at the time had "some knowledge of the abuse and that the school failed students."
Buono was ordered held without bail until his next court hearing on July 18.
