Editor's note: Video is from December 2019, following the internal investigation by Catlin Gabel.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Five former students have sued private Portland school Catlin Gabel alleging teachers of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
The lawsuits announced Tuesday are the latest since an internal investigation showed staffers sexually abused or groped students for several decades. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that with these new lawsuits, 10 former students have sought legal action against the school.
The abuse alleged by the five former students, all women, occurred from the late 1960s to 2001 and involved five Catlin Gabel teachers. The teachers named in the lawsuit are Fred Corbett, Samuel Crawley, Dale Rawls, Susan Sowles and Richardson “Dick Shoemaker.” Rawls still works at Catlin Gabel, according to the lawsuit.
One woman says Corbett molested her on multiple occasions from 1968-1970 when she was 12-14 years old.
Two women allege Crawley, who was a high school English teacher, began sexual relationships with them in the 1980s when they were 17 years old.
Another woman says Rawls mentally abused her at her eight grade graduation ceremony in 1994, which the lawsuit said included sexualized humiliation. The same woman alleges Sowles physically and mentally abused her in 1996, including an incident when Sowles grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against a bookcase, according to the lawsuit.
One woman says she was sexually and psychologically abused by Shoemaker, a math teacher and girls’ basketball coach, during the 2000-2001 school year when she was 11 years old.
All the lawsuits allege Catlin Gabel was negligent for knowingly allowing child abuse at the school.
Catlin Gabel has apologized repeatedly and claims it is now taking proactive steps to protect its students.