Wheaton College allowed a former staff member who confessed to sexually abusing students to quietly leave in 1998 under a confidentiality agreement, keeping the reasons for his departure hidden from the campus community for more than two decades, according to an investigation published by The Wheaton Record on Monday, Aug. 24.

Dennis Massaro, who served 19 years as director of the college's Office of Evangelical Outreach, signed a voluntary separation agreement in May 1998 after at least three students reported sexual abuse to then-Dean of Students Sam Shellhammer. Massaro confessed to the accusations and was terminated. The agreement barred Massaro from disclosing the reasons for his departure. The college, though not contractually bound by the clause, also kept the reasons confidential.

That silence persisted until 2024, when Board of Trustees Chair Dale Wong and President Philip Ryken emailed students and alumni acknowledging allegations of misconduct involving improper sexual touching of students.

"There was inadequate communication of the reasons for his departure from the college to other key people at Wheaton," Ryken told The Wheaton Record. "And that's something I think the college has acknowledged."

Victims describe abuse on college retreats

One victim, identified as "Joe," accused Massaro of molesting him during a Wheaton-sponsored retreat in 1990. Massaro told Joe the next morning he had been sleepwalking. A second victim, "Craig," accused Massaro of repeated sexual abuse over a two-day retreat in 1998 while the two shared a room. A third student reported a similar incident that same year.

After his termination, Massaro continued to live in Wheaton and attend campus events. Wheaton Chief Marketing Communications Officer Joseph Moore told The Wheaton Record that Massaro came to campus "on his own initiative," without the administration's knowledge. His last confirmed appearance on campus was at the 2024 homecoming football game, after which he was confronted and has not returned.

Massaro returned to ministry, faced new allegations abroad

The confidentiality had consequences beyond Wheaton's campus. Massaro returned to ministry in 2015, serving as pastor at St. Paul Union Church in Antalya, Turkey, until 2018. In April 2019, a Turkish newspaper reported allegations that Massaro demanded sexual intercourse from Iranian refugees in exchange for Christian certificates needed for asylum applications. The church said it "knew nothing about Dennis's activities."

In 2014, Massaro's ex-wife Kathy Gallagher had called Ryken asking him to disclose the reasons behind Massaro's departure before Massaro left for Turkey. Ryken refused after consulting the college's lawyer, according to Gallagher.

Hannah Dreher, daughter of Gallagher and Massaro, told The Wheaton Record that the secrecy harmed her family's reputation in the community. "There was a narrative that my mom was this horrible person who divorced this very godly man who was giving to the church and to the world," Dreher said.

Gallagher received sole custody of their two daughters after Shellhammer told a court-appointed psychologist about the abuse. Massaro relinquished parental rights in 2003 on the condition that Gallagher leave Wheaton. She and her family moved to Tennessee.

College responds, protest planned

In a Monday, July 20 email to faculty and staff, Wong acknowledged the college's failures, writing that the college grieves the ways its actions contributed to, rather than eased, the trauma Massaro's victims still experience. Wong also offered to reimburse victim "Craig" for counseling expenses in a separate 2024 email obtained by the Roys Report, which published a five-part investigative series on the case beginning in late April 2026.

Wheaton 1991 alumnus Brian Wells created a Change.org petition titled "Calling Wheaton College to Repentance," published June 4. As of Aug. 24, it had gathered 2,730 signatures.

Anyone with information about Massaro's alleged abuse or who has experienced sexual abuse at Wheaton is asked to contact [email protected], per Wong's July 20 email. Massaro now lives in Florida.