PORTLAND, Ore. — The St. Helens School District has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a former student's civil rights suit that alleged school officials failed protect female students from a teacher's predatory abuse, who was arrested after sexually abusing her.
The amount marks the largest sex abuse settlement ever paid by a public school district in Oregon, according to the Oregonian. It is also the largest verdict rendered against a public school district in the state.
The suit alleged the district was aware for more than a decade of predatory behavior by St. Helens High School teacher and track coach, Kyle Wroblewski, but did nothing.
Wroblewski had sexually abused the student on multiple occasions over a seven month period at school and at his home until his arrest in 2018. The abuse began when the student was 15-years-old.
He was sentenced in August 2019 to 50 months in jail after pleading guilty to five counts of second-degree sexual abuse. He’s now out of custody and required to register as a sex offender, the Oregonian reported.
Decade-long sexual misconduct
According to court documents, in April 2008, then-Assistant Principal Joanna Rau reprimanded Wroblewski for smelling girls, helping female students stretch at track in sexually suggestive ways, caressing female students' hair, and initiating shoulder massages with students. But no further supervision or restrictions were given to Wroblewski.
Then, a year later in April 2009, following more sexual misconduct, including texting a female student privately and arranging to meet them at the school alone, Wroblewski was suspended for three days.
Following his suspension, then-District Superintendent Patricia Adams and School Principal Nanette Hagen at a meeting expressed "fear and predication" that if Wroblewski was not fired, the district would "likely be enabling the sexual abuse" of more female students in the future, the lawsuit stated.
However, beyond the brief suspension in 2009, Wroblewski remained a teacher and coach at the high school until he was arrested in May 2018. At that time, he was charged with 32 counts of sexual abuse in the second degree and two counts of official misconduct in the first degree.
The lawsuit stated that not only did Adams opt to retain Wroblewski, but she also knew that he had already sexually harassed and abused several students. The suit claims that Adam's decision to retain a "sexual predator" enabled Wroblewski to continue to groom, sexually harass and sexual abuse several female students for approximately nine years.
Wroblewski was found to have sexual harassed and abused at least 20 female students from 2005 to 2015.
Between 2005-2018, Wroblewski’s sexually inappropriate behavior and relationships with female students became a commonly understood “open secret” within the school and district, according to court document.
"Rumors and discussion of Wroblewski’s ongoing sexual harassment and abuse were commonly passed among students, parents, and School and District staff," according to court documents.
The lawsuit also alleges that the school district violated the former student's civil rights, was “deliberately indifferent to the safety of students,” and acted with “reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm.”
