Oregon principal resigns after student arrested for sexual abuse after years of allegations

An Oregon principal has resigned after it was alleged that the school and district failed to act on multiple complaints they received about a 13-year-old student who was finally taken into custody and charged with sexual abuse against another student. Last Monday, the principal of the K-12 Jewell School, George Scott, resigned at the school board meeting.

The resignation came only days after the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 13-year-old student on Dec. 5, following a complaint of sexual abuse against another student. The teen has been taken to a youth detention facility and the case has been referred to the Clatsop County Juvenile Department and the district attorney’s office, according to the county sheriff’s office.

Parents told KATU that they have complained to the school and district about the student, who was arrested multiple times and nothing was done. One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told the outlet, “I have filed multiple sexual harassment claims against the student. I have had to keep my child home from school on multiple occasions because she didn’t feel safe. I have reached out to the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Education, DHS, and the parents of the individual himself as well.”

During Monday night’s meeting, the board discussed hiring a third-party investigator to review reports from parents that they claim have gone unresolved going back three years or more. At the meeting, the district superintendent also announced new policies regarding bathrooms, hall passes, and school dismissal to keep younger and older students separated more during the school day.

One parent told Fox 12, “We need to know how allegations are documented, investigated, and reported. We need to know how risks, safety plans, et cetera are communicated to administration, to staff, and then to parents and families. It appears the failure to take seriously the reports and warnings about this student perpetrator rests largely on an ex-administrator.”