Suit: St. Helens school allowed sex abuse of student

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former student at St. Helens High School has filed a lawsuit accusing the district of failing to protect her from sexual abuse by a track coach and social studies teacher.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Kyle Wroblewski was arrested in 2018. In August, he was sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of sexual abuse of the underage girl.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday says the school district and high school officials were deliberately indifferent to the safety of students in failing to report to police or state child welfare workers the reasonable suspicions of abuse based on widely circulated information about Wroblewski and the student.

The suit names the St. Helens School District, the school board, the superintendent, high school principal and guidance counselor.

St. Helens School Superintendent Scot Stockwell on Tuesday declined comment on the lawsuit.

The woman’s lawyers say the suit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages to punish and deter the school district for repeating its mistakes.