ROME, Ga. (WKRC/WGCL/CBS Newspath) - 20 men who say they were sexually abused decades ago as students at a Georgia private school are seeking $345 million in damages from the school’s insurers.

The former students recently settled a lawsuit against Roger Stifflemire, a longtime English teacher and dorm supervisor at the Darlington School in Rome.

50-year-old Tim Lee says he will never forget what happened to him 35 years earlier while he was at the school.

"I had a dream of him coming in my room and kissing me or doing something to my mouth, and I always just pushed that off, like it was a bad dream or something, and then it wasn’t until like three or four people shared that they woke up with Stifflemire kissing them," Lee said.

The accusations of abuse began between 1977 and 1988. Lee and about 20 other victims allege that Stifflemire used his authority and influence to abuse them both on and off campus.

"The bulk of it was pressure for him to be sexual with me, and through intimidation, manipulation, blackmail, threatening to expel me," Lee said. "It was two nights a week for two years."

Stifflemire denies the allegations, and was never permanently charged due to a statute of limitations.

"By the time these allegations came out front and center in the public, the criminal statute of limitations had expired," said Darren Penn, an attorney for victims of abuse.

Although Stifflemire was not required to compensate the former students, the settlement cleared the way for the them to pursue an insurance settlement for themselves.

In late 2021, the Darlington School reached a financial settlement with the victims who have come forward.

The school released a statement saying, “The abuse suffered was abhorrent, and we are truly sorry for the pain these men feel because of their time under our care.”

"They have committed, and they have pledged to continue to help these Darlington survivors to help them heal," said Penn.

The settlement provides some level of justice for Lee and the other victims, who fear they will never truly overcome what happened.

"I truly would not want to be in that man’s shoes, I’ll just put it that way," said Lee. "I would not want his life for anything. Do I want to see him in handcuffs? Absolutely."

Lee says he believes that Darlington is now a safe place.