A storied New England school lets in a watchdog to curb sexual assault

On Jan. 31, the eve of a short winter break at St. Paul’s boarding school, five people sat in the Gothic Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul to hear the white-robed teen choristers sing Compline, a service of evening prayers.

The 91st Psalm. The Lord’s Prayer. The reassurances rang out ethereally: “There shall no evil happen to you.”

The service was open to the public, and a reminder that people often do good things regardless of whether they have an audience.

But when no one is watching, sometimes people do really bad things, too.

For the past four years, the storied school has attracted attention for sexual assaults and misconduct – including a criminal conviction of a senior who assaulted a freshman as part of a sexual-conquest competition known as “Senior Salute.”

So as students returned this week, a new watcher arrived