this is "nightline." >> tonight, boarding school secrets. elite private schools with distinguished alumni confronting disturbing reports of sexual misconduct. >> you lose your voice, you lose your soul. >> multiple investigations discovering over 100 allegations of inappropriate relationships spanning decades. >> i suspect we only touched the tip of the iceberg. >> painful stories from former students. >> he actually took me out of the dorm at night to kiss. >> shining a light on the past to bring accountability now. plus a pirate's life. oscar winner javier bardem joining jack sparrow and the gang for the new "pirates of the caribbean: dead men tell no tales." why he always wanted to join in

on the high seas high sdwreengs and his special relationship with costar john fee dep. and michael jackson. "searching for neverland." he's the mirror image of the man in the mirror. now this impersonator is playing his hero in the king of pop bio-pic. first the "nightline 5." need heartburn relief? cool mint zantac releases a cooling sensation in the mouth and throat. nexium can take 24 hours. try cool mint zantac. no pill relieves heartburn faster. you know how your fair tangles the minute you wark it? >> new pantene, the first shampoo with active nutrient blend. fueling hair 100% stronger that's instantly smoother and tangle free. >> strong is beautiful. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, multiple investigations uncovering a history of scandal at some of the country's most elite private schools. alleged sexual indiscretions between students and teachers. we know it's been a pervasive issue for decades. thanks to a few brave graduates telling their stoiries it's finally out of the shadows. here's abc's deborah roberts. >> numbing myself was really how i coped with it. >> reporter: for decades they've held painful secrets. >> he would invite me to come down after lights-out. to his room. >> the school didn't do anything to protect me. the school punished me, and i was the teenager. >> we share this culture of silence. >> reporter: their stories a glimpse into a shocking pattern of sexual abuse at a number of the nation's most elite boarding schools, where tuitions can cop $40,000 a year.

>> many of the cases we looked at had been hushed up for years. >> reporter: jonathan saltzman, reporter with the "boston globe's" spotlight team, their investigation uncovering rampant sexual misconduct that many times went unreported to protect a school's reputation. >> we found that more than 110 private schools in new england had grappled with these allegations that surfaced over the past 25 years. and i suspect we only touched the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: it's prompting schools to confront their demons. just this week an independent report released by the prestigious st. paul school in new hampshire exposing allegations of sexual misconduct spanning decades. many victims remain anonymous. but a few are coming out of the shadows. realizing they are not alone. >> i was silent about it. the school was silent about it. other students were silent about it. >> reporter: when cheyenne montgomery read the "boston globe" report she was brought

back to 1989. she was just 15 when she started at choke rosemary hall, one of the country's most prestigious boarding schools with an impressive alumni list including president john f. kennedy, oscar winner michael douglas, first daughter ivanka trump. >> i was a scholarship student as a tenth grader. it was really just a huge dream come true. >> reporter: as a teen from small town vermont, cheyenne saw it as a chance to escape a difficult childhood. >> i was pretty desperate to get out and shed that past. so it was a chance to turn the page and be something different. >> reporter: but soon her hopes for high school took her down a traumatic path when she says she became romantically involved with her math teacher. >> it was after my 16th birthday that there started being touching and handholding and kissing. there were times towards the end of the year where he actually took me out of the dorm at night to kiss. >> reporter: that teacher was 27-year-old angus mairs. when he took an interest, she

welcomed it. >> he was young and personable. outgoing. he paid a lot of attention to me and that was flattering. >> reporter: he was married, and also her dorm adviser. >> he was constantly there. so the dorm adviser, you live in a dorm, they're there in the morning when you get up, they're there in the evening when you go to bed. >> they're supposed to look out for you? >> they're supposed to look out for you. >> you said he began to touch you more, leave and you would kiss. at some point the relationship became sexual? >> yes. >> your first sexual relationship? >> yes. >> reporter: just after sophomore year mairs moved to seattle. she says the relationship continued through cross country flights and letters like these which cheyenne says shows mairs writing, it scares me sometimes to realize how unable i am to do the right thing when you're involved, you've taken me over, i love you. how did he excuse the fact that he's your teacher and that you're 16? >> i don't know how he excused that to himself. my reaction to it then was i worked really, really hard not to remind him that i was 16. i was trying very, very hard to

be the person i thought he wanted me to. >> reporter: cheyenne says their secret romance went on for close to two years before it ended and throughout, she was consumed by fear and shame. >> i felt like i was the one that had done something bad. >> you felt you were the one at fault? >> yeah. >> reporter: as senior year got under way, cheyenne wided in her 46-year-old french teacher, bjorn runquist, like mairs, also married and her dorm adviser. >> there was too much personal sharing and he kissed me in his apartment and i felt, again, like i was in love, this person was paying attention to me, i was special. >> reporter: she says the new relationship lasted only a few months before a choke faculty member spotted them and reported runquist to school administration. >> he admitted to an emotional relationship, not a physical relationship. they took him at his word. they said, you can finish out the year. >> he got a recommendation from the school? >> he did. >> reporter: runquist went on to

teach at connecticut's kent school until he retired in 2013. >> i always felt like this was my fault. >> you're blaming yourself, even though you're the child. >> yes. yeah. i mean, that's kind of like how my identity was put together was like -- i'm just kind of this thing to be used, like that's how i get love, that's how i function in the world. >> reporter: marcie hamilton is a lawyer and child advocate. >> the schools are required by law to be the parents of the children while they're on campus. protecting them to the degree that a parent would. and of course many don't fulfill that obligation. >> reporter: cheyenne tells us she kept her secrets buried for decades. >> i was very depressed. i couldn't for the first time really figure out what the point of anything was. >> reporter: but last year, cheyenne finally confronted choate about what she says happened when she was a student, sharing her story with the

"boston globe." >> i was like, i hope runquist and mairs are really worried. i said to that myself and then, why would they be worried? i realize i was the only person who could blow the whistle on them. >> reporter: sharing on a choate alumni facebook page. >> i'm breaking my silence now, i'm doing this with the hope my story might prevent this from happening to others. she says bjorn runquist, whom she'd barely spoken to in decades, saw the post and privately messaged her on facebook. i am so sad to see what happened between us caused you such pain. i fell in love, desperately in love. nothing like that has ever happened to me before or since. please find it in your heart to forgive me, for it was ultimately my responsibility. the "boston globe" published cheyenne's story on october 1st, 2016. nine days later, choate launched an independent investigation. the result, this 50-page report exposing more than 50 years of

alleged abuse at choate, including allegations of rape, molestation, and inappropriate relationships. in many cases the school writing letters of recommendation, passing the teachers off to other schools. 12 are singled out by name. including angus mairs and bjorn runquist. >> that's striking thing to do. because none of them were criminally charged in almost all cases. choate failed to even report it to child welfare authorities. >> reporter: runquist's attorney telling abc news, mr. runquist has denied and continues to deny any sexual misconduct with any student while a member of the choate faculty. angus mairs declined to comment. >> to read over and over again these things weren't reported, to read over and over again that the school's reputation was put ahead of the safety of children -- it just makes me sick. >> for those parents who have children and they're considering a boarding school, you need to do a lot more due diligence than

to find out where that school ranks and whether it gets your child into harvard. >> reporter: in a letter to the choate community, the chairman of the board of trustees and the current head master apologized writing, we honor and thank the survivors of sexual misconduct who came forward, specifically thanking cheyenne adding, ms. montgomery's courage to come forward caused choate to pursue a re-examination of its past and confront an extraordinarily painful subject. >> in a strange way, really proud of them for putting it out there. because they didn't have to do that. >> reporter: today cheyenne's a teacher herself. living in oregon with her wife and three children. she hopes that more schools will confront the past and take accountability. >> i think that's what every school needs to do in order for this to start changing. >> for "nightline," i'm deborah roberts in new york. >> our thanks to deborah roberts. next, the new eest in the swash buckling crew, javier

bardem in the new pirate movie "dead men tell no tales." hey!

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captain jack sparrow back on the big screen bringing along extra star pow they are time. oscar winner javier bardem says he couldn't wait to join the pirates crew on their new high seas adventure. getting to work with johnny depp again was icing on the rum cake. here's abc's chris connelly. >> reporter: six years since its last installment, "pay rats of the caribbean" is back on the high seas with its fifth film "dead men tell no tales." >> i just happen to be captain jack sparrow. >> reporter: fresh new faces

give it a rebootylicious feel. >> i always leave one man alive to tell the tale. >> reporter: javier bardem as spectral captain salazar. eager to settle a long-simmering score with johnny depp's iconic captain jack sparrow. >> you will soon pay for what you did to me. >> what did they say they wanted you to bring? >> first, my spanish accent. >> a message from captain salazar! >> which is something that i bring with me whether i like it or not. >> where is he? >> they detailed this character be like a wounded animal, like a wounded bull. >> reporter: with that killer smile and his oscar-winning acting skills, the 48-year-old bardem adds a jolt of on-screen adrenaline to this 14-year-old franchise. an anomaly of the 2017 summer movies strewn with superheroes. the franchise has earned nearly

$4 billion. the fusion of high jinks and heroics has pleased audiences since 2003. >> it's not easy to make a movie where you play on a real site parrot boat with 300 extras, pure fighting. it's a job, it's hard work. but it's like, remind yourself to have fun with it, please. >> reporter: "pirates" gave bardem a chance to renew screen acquaintance with dep who in 1999 appeared in typically offbeat fashion as part of bardem's breakthrough film "before night falls." >> he played not one but two characters. >> you can be free tomorrow. >> one of them was a drag queen. i saw a figure walking towards the set with the blond hair, nice butt. and i said, wow, that's a nice butt. they told me it's johnny's. i said, i don't care, it's a nice butt. since then we are very good friends. we have the chance to kiss each other in the scene.

>> you and i are as thick as thieves, love. >> he can kiss my wife, now he's kissed us both, so it's all in the family. >> reporter: while visiting spouse penelope cruz on the set, bardem felt drawn to becoming part of the "pirates" family evening and producer jerry bruckheimer to give him a role someday. >> i was very jealous. that was my first time that i was in such a big set. in a movie like this. i go, oh, i would love to be one of those. he called me five years after. it took him awhile but he called. >> reporter: at the outtet it was bruckheimer's then controversial call to cast depp, whose characterization initially made disney executives' jaws hit the poop deck. >> they're panicking, seeing pepe lepew as their pirate. >> when we cut a scene together and showed them how it was going to work, they got on board with and it saw what we were trying

to do. >> me, i'm dishonest. a dishonest man you can count on to be dishonest, honestly. >> what's it like to work with captain jack sparrow? >> when you're working with him and he becomes this the guy, there's a moment, there he is. then you are proud, and you go, that was fun! but you have to do your lines. i'm sorry, i forgot. >> reporter: the characterization has outlasted studio regimes, trends in film franchises, even bruckheimer's overall producing deal at disney, abc's parent company. yet in recent months, following the death of his mother, depp has gone through a public divorce and played a game of suit/counter suit with his former business managers amid reports of lavish spending. none of it seemed to dampen the delight of disneyland visit is where the real jock sparrow popped up on their pirates ride this spring. >> aah! who has rum? bring it! >> reporter: the same delight is

what bardem says his and cruz's two kids enjoyed on the set. >> they're too young, 6 and 4. and i only brought them when i was alive in the movie. when i was all dressed up and proud. not when i was wear iing -- tha would be too hard. >> reporter: grim characters such as "ono country for old me" for which he won the academy award. >> are you going to shoot me? >> that depends. do you see me? >> reporter: bardem says pure entertainment has its rightful place too. >> dead men tell no tales. people also want to sit down and enjoy for two hours the show, the movie-making. the fantasy of the pirates' world. and so when it's so beautifully done like this, it's as important as any other movie.

>> reporter: for "nightline" i'm chris connelly in los angeles. >> "pirates of the caribbean: dead men tell no tales" opens today. next, the self-proclaimed number one michael jackson impersonator wants to rock with you. ♪ i want to rock with you ♪ done that rock the night away ♪ i just saved a bunch of money on my car insurhuh. with geico. i should take a closer look at geico... geico can help with way more than car insurance. boats, homes, motorcycles... even umbrella coverage. this guy's gonna wish he brought his umbrella. fire at will! how'd you know the guy's name is will? yeah? it's an expression, ya know? fire at will? you never heard of that? oh, there goes will! bye, will! that's not his name! take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more.

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and finally tonight, michael jackson may have been one of a kind. but was there more than one of him? ♪ thriller >> reporter: "thriller" still the best-selling album all-time. michael jackson eight years after his death still a figure of fascination. >> bring it up, michael! >> reporter: playing the king of pop in lifetime's bio-pic is navi, bills himself as the world's number one jackson imprers nater. >> when i worked him as a decoy,

100 people chasing me, being scared for your life. >> reporter: he's never acted but says he has a long list of qualifications. >> i worked for him in promotions of albums and tours, i performed at his birthday party in new york, in los angeles -- >> reporter: here he is without the makeup. >> i get the opportunity to tell the world of the michael jackson i saw glimmers of. >> reporter: michael jackson: searching for neverland" focuses on jackson in later life based on a book written by two of his bodyguards. navi plays the man trying in the glare to live that childhood through his own kids. earlier this week jackson's state issued a statement describing this lifetime film and another script recently bought by netflix as "unsanctioned" adding the estate does not license or permit the use of any rights it owns, including to michael's music, images, video, film. >> we have shown the film to some of the jackson family and the response has been positive. >> seeing hah paris is, she

wouldn't hold back, she would have said something by now. >> reporter: navi claims this movie comes from a place of love, respect, and fandom. >> michael jackson is a hero, he is my hero. >> is that your real hair? >> parts don't ask about anything else. >> reporter: i'm nick watt for "nightli" >> searching for neverland" airs on lifetime memorial day. thank you for watching abc news. as always we're abcnew >> you know how when you were in school, you were always we ever gonna use this stuff?" well, this is whiz kids week, and some very smart young people that stuff right now. let's play "who wants to be a millionaire." [dramatic music] ♪ [cheers and applause] hey, everybody.e on "who wants to be a millionaire."

[cheers and applause] [dramatic musical flourish] and we have a brilliant whiz kid with us returning today. an aspiring lawyer, our returning contestant, is used to solving problems in the courtroom. today she is here to settle the remaining seven questions in her game. from charlotte, north carolina, please welcome back 14-year-old laila robinson. [cheers and applause] how you doing, laila? >> good, how are you? >> good to see you. so, you've already settled cases? you're 14 years old. >> yes, so i participate in this program called teen court at the local courthouse back in charlotte, and so it's basically a program where teen offenders-- it's their first offense-- they're referred to teen court. and so they're tried in front of a jury of their peers, and my role, i'm either a prosecution or defense attorney. and so they've admitted guilt to be able to participate in this program and get this second chance, and so our job is really to help them realize what they did through a creative sentence, not necessarily a punishment, so it's really g