A private boarding school in Maryland says it has found evidence that five former faculty members sexually assaulted more than 20 students over several decades.

The Baltimore Sun reports the McDonogh School in Owings Mills sent families a letter about the findings Tuesday. The letter says the allegations don't involve current faculty or students. It says an investigation was launched in 2016 when a former student from the 1980s told officials he had been sexually assaulted by Alvin J. Levy and Robert E. Creed.

Levy was indicted on a sexual abuse charge by a school graduate in 1992 but died before his scheduled court date. Creed pleaded guilty in 1985 to sexual offense and abuse of a minor and has since died.

The school notified police and hired a firm to conduct an external investigation, which found Levy and Creed may have assaulted 19 male students over four decades. It also found that three other former faculty members may have assaulted five female students during the 1970s and 80s. The letter did not identify those faculty members, but did say police have been notified.

County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger says the victims have been contacted. He says one of the former female students was willing to testify in court. However, Shellenberger said he did not have the evidence required to build a case because the incident occurred in the 1980s, when state law required the encounter to be forced or for the victim to be younger than she was.

The investigation also found that some of the allegations were previously reported to school officials who failed to take appropriate action. Head of School David Farace apologized in the letter.

The Sun reported that the investigation by New York-based T&M Protection Resources comes after county police confirmed in 2018 an investigation into a separate incident of alleged sexual assault between students in the boys' dormitory.

The newspaper says county police and the school didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com