A former student at the Catlin Gabel School in Oregon claims when she reported being sexually abused by two of her teachers there, administrators did nothing to help. In fact, she says, a principal advised her to confront one of the abusers herself.

The girl was in sixth grade at the time.

Her allegations are among several included in a new lawsuit filed against Catlin Gabel by six former students who say they were sexually abused by teachers at the private school near Portland, the Oregonian newspaper reported. The civil action is only the latest brought against Catlin Gabel since late 2019 when it released the results of an internal investigation of sexual abuse claims. Ten other former students have previously filed suit against the school.

New Lawsuit Makes Familiar Allegations of Abuse Ignored

The various plaintiffs, listed as Mary Does in court documents, make specific allegations against the teachers that can generally be described as being assaulted, groped and harassed. Most are similar to allegations made in the other lawsuits filed earlier against Catlin Gabel.

The plaintiffs are asking the court for $16 million in damages, according to the newspaper.

Four former teachers are named in the newest case – Sam Crawley and Art Leo, and the late Richardson Shoemaker and Robert Ashe – the Oregonian reported.

All but one of the newest accusers say Shoemaker touched them inappropriately. Mary Doe 7 claims Shoemaker took her outside and tried forcibly to “digitally penetrate” her, according to the newspaper report. The same alleged victim says Leo, her basketball coach, touched her, talked to her about his marital sex life and read provocative books to her.

Mary Doe 7 says in the lawsuit she complained about the teachers’ behavior to administrators, but the head of the school did nothing and the middle school principal “advised the plaintiff, then in sixth grade, to confront Shoemaker herself,” the Oregonian reported.

Another of the plaintiffs, Mary Doe 5, says Crawley had inappropriate sexual contact with her when she was 17 and he was 33. His sexual abuse was “open and notorious” on the Catlin Gabel campus, the Oregonian said the plaintiff claims.

Overall, the plaintiffs suing Catlin Gabel claim school faculty and administrators were aware of numerous allegations against a number of staff members at many times over many years, but turned a mostly blind eye to it, the Oregonian reported.

Whether in private schools like Catlin Gabel or public school systems, allegations of sexual abuse are on the climb around the country. Many abuse lawsuits hold the school administration responsible due to lack of action. In Washington State, after a number of accusations and lawsuits, the Supreme Court ruled that school districts are strictly liable for abuse perpetrated by those in their employ.

Social Media Activity Led to Catlin Gabel Investigation

Catlin Gabel launched its internal investigation after allegations of sexual abuse there began surfacing on social media in 2019. The school hired an outside investigator to conduct the inquiry. By December, the investigation was done and a summary of the findings was released to the public, Portland’s ABC-affiliate KATU reported.

The investigator found at least nine former staff members had engaged in inappropriate physical contact with students – from making female students sit on their laps to sexual assault and many instances of misconduct in between – both on and off campus, KATU reported. The wrongdoing took place as long ago as the mid 1960s and as recently as 2016, though none of the teachers accused were still working at Catlin Gabel at the time.

According to the Oregonian, Catlin Gabel issued a statement to parents in March saying, “We knew when we shared the findings that lawsuits were possible, but we stand by our decision to investigate and share the summary of findings.”

Meanwhile, local law enforcement, namely the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, was informed of the Catlin Gabel investigation, according to a report by Oregon Public Broadcasting. A sheriff’s spokesman said the office was looking into the allegations, but was unsure any criminal action could be taken due to statute of limitations, among other factors.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.