A couple who co-founded The Hague School in Norfolk and initially served as its leaders on Wednesday settled lawsuits filed by a former student who alleged the husband sexually harassed her for years, and that the wife knew of his behavior.
The settlement was announced at the start of what was supposed to be the second day of trial in the case, which was brought against Hague school co-founder Paul Warren by former student Keelin Hogan. Hogan later filed an additional lawsuit against Warren’s wife, Jennifer, the school’s other co-founder.
Attorney Diane Toscano, who represents Hogan, and the Warrens’ attorney, S.W. Dawson, declined to disclose the terms of the agreement. The lawyers, however, described it as a fair settlement, and said both sides were satisfied with the terms.
Also settled and dismissed on Wednesday was a defamation lawsuit Warren had filed against Toscano in which he accused her of including false claims in her complaint that were later dismissed by the court.
The trial began Tuesday in Norfolk Circuit Court with jury selection, opening statements from the lawyers and testimony from Hogan.
Now 19 and a sophomore at The College of Charleston in South Carolina, Hogan spent about 1½ hours testifying. She was to begin cross examination Wednesday.
Hogan told jurors about a torrent of inappropriate and unwanted touching, comments, and messages she said she received from Paul Warren during the 2 ½ years he served as headmaster, provost, and teacher at the school — and how her educational and personal life began to unravel as a result.
Hogan was among the first class of students to attend the private high school when it opened in fall 2019 in a former church building next to the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Her initial lawsuit was filed in June 2023, and also included the school as a defendant, but she later dropped the institution from the claim after discussing the allegations further with school officials and being satisfied with their responses, Toscano said.
Hogan and Toscano filed an additional complaint against Jennifer Warren last month, in which they claimed she knew of her husband’s “predatory behavior” and was “complicit” to it.
Jennifer Warren had been copied on a letter sent to her husband and another school official in November 2022 by the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Virginia Wesleyan University. It said Paul Warren had sent a nude photo and unseemly messages to a university art teacher after she began working on a traveling exhibit at The Hague School, the lawsuit said.
Paul Warren, an attorney who practiced in the Norfolk area for many years, was removed from The Hague School shortly afterwards, and Jennifer Warren left later. The couple recently moved to California, according to court documents.
In an email Jennifer Warren sent to her husband in October 2022 to discuss a separate allegation of inappropriate behavior, she wrote that he had an “underlying condition that you can’t just wish or will away, hence the chronicity for years, escalating with each person as you seek out risky, destructive situations,” according to the lawsuit. “These are classic signs of predatory behavior, and you’re addicted to it.”
Paul Warren also has been accused of improper behavior with Arianna Shipp, the school’s former physical education teacher.
Shipp has claimed Paul Warren routinely made sexual comments to her, sent inappropriate emails and messages, and once climbed on top of her during a yoga session he insisted on having with her. She quit in December 2019, a few months after the school opened.
Hogan’s lawsuit says Shipp spoke to and texted about what had happened to Jennifer Warren, who asked her to forward all the concerning emails and texts she’d received from him.
“Have just concluded a two-hour talk (with Mr. Warren) met with great remorse and an agreement to go to counseling,” Jennifer Warren wrote to Shipp in a text, the lawsuit said. “It will be a tough road ahead. So sorry this happened and praying for healing.”
Jennifer Warren didn’t tell anyone at The Hague School about the incident and continued to allow Paul Warren access to girls at the school, the lawsuit said.
The complaint also alleges Paul Warren solicited a late-night video conference with an underage student at a school in Mexico with which The Hague School had a partnership. Warren appeared shirtless on the video while telling the student, “let’s get naked already,” the lawsuit said.
Hogan testified Tuesday that she began to withdraw from school activities, friends and family as a result of the unwanted attention from Paul Warren, which she said included messages from him at night and weekends. She was later diagnosed with depression and anxiety, she said, and still finds it difficult to trust others.
“He was always over me, I couldn’t get away from him,” she testified. “I was scared. I didn’t understand what was happening. I had looked up to him and he was asking me questions no one had ever asked me before.”
Warren had asked Hogan to serve as his teaching assistant during her junior year, which required her to meet alone with him for several hours each week. She said he always sat very close to her, and often would put his hands on her thighs.
At the end of each meeting he would hug her tightly and once asked to kiss her, which she said she refused. He also encouraged her to dress more provocatively, she testified, suggesting that wearing lace bras would improve her confidence.
Hogan’s parents began to notice a change in her demeanor, and how she had begun to avoid school activities, and sought counseling for her, she said. She provided details to her therapist in November 2022, which is when school officials and Child Protective Services were notified and Warren was forced to leave.
Through Toscano, Hogan said Wednesday she appreciated the support she’s received from The Hague School and “The Hague School community” while the lawsuit was pending.
The school put out a statement Wednesday in which it applauded Hogan for coming forward.
“We are proud of our graduate, Keelin Hogan, for demonstrating the courage to pursue the civil litigation process to her satisfaction,” Head of School Michael Spencer said in the statement. “She is a remarkable young woman with a bright future, and The Hague School salutes her fortitude.”
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
