School District in Oregon Settles a Sexual Abuse Case for $3.5 Million

Following years of litigation, the St. Helens School District (SHSD) has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a civil rights suit brought by a former St. Helens High School (SHHS) student in 2019 that alleged district and school leaders failed to protect her from sexual abuse by a district employee.

The $3.5 million settlement is the highest sum a public school district in Oregon has ever paid in a sexual abuse settlement, as first reported by the Oregonian. The settlement will be paid through the district’s insurer and will not affect the general fund budget, according to the district.

The settlement agreement comes a year after U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman ruled that the former student, identified as Jessica Doe, could proceed with a claim of state-created danger. The suit named the SHSD, SHSD Board, and SHSD Superintendent Scot Stockwell as defendants. The former student accused the district of acting negligently and creating a “foreseeable risk of Kyle Wroblewski abusing students.”

Read the source article at The Chronicle & Chief