The police said the St. Helens School District was informed of the abuse allegations as early as 2019 but officials failed to alert the authorities.
Two Oregon high school teachers charged on Tuesday with sexually abusing students had been reported as early as 2019 to district officials, who failed to notify the authorities, according to the police.
The revelations have prompted online petitions seeking the resignations of school leaders as well as demonstrations at St. Helens School District by parents, students and community members.
On Thursday, the principal at St. Helens High School, Katy Wagner, was placed on administrative leave and the school board chairman, Ryan Scholl, resigned, according to the district’s Facebook page. A day later, the district superintendent, Scot Stockwell, was placed on leave, the district said.
The teachers, Eric Stearns, 46, a teacher at the high school, and Mark Collins, 64, who recently retired from the school, were each charged with several counts of sexual abuse, the St. Helens Police Department said.
Joseph Hogue, the acting police chief, said that investigators had identified nine female victims between Mr. Stearns and Mr. Collins from 2019-23. The investigation is continuing and detectives are still fielding calls, he said.
A lawyer for Mr. Stearns, Jennifer L. Myrick, on Sunday night disputed the charges.
She said the grand jurors investigating the charges conflated the investigations of Mr. Collins and Mr. Stearns.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
