PORTLAND, Ore. — A Multnomah County jury on Friday awarded a Milwaukie woman $3 million in a civil suit against the Gresham-Barlow School District and former elementary school principal Jeff Hays on Friday.
The plaintiff, identified in court as “J.J.” is 21 years old now. She accused Hays of sexually abusing her when she was in the second, third and fourth grade at Deep Creek Elementary School in Damascus. Hays was the principal at Deep Creek from 2005-2009.
“I'm feeling vindicated,” said J.J. “I have my worst nightmares about [Hays]. That is evil to me.”
Court documents showed J.J. and another female student accused Hays of taking them into his office, closing the door, pulling the shades, then sexually abusing them. They said he moved his hand up their legs during math quizzes, and that the abuse got progressively worse.
During the civil trial, Hays took the Fifth Amendment and was not in court. J.J.'s attorney, Jason Kaufory, hoped with more victims coming forward that Hays would soon be held accountable.
“A third victim just came forward a couple months ago,” said Kafoury. “The DA is now, I think, looking at criminally prosecuting and I'm hoping that with this result more people feel empowered to come forward and talk about what [Hays] did to them.”
So does J.J.
“It may feel like coming forward can be the scariest thing you've ever done,” said J.J. “But when you've done it, it will be the best thing you've ever done and that's a promise.”
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office completed a criminal investigation into Hays in 2017. He was not charged with a crime.