Ex-student claims teacher groped her 80 times, seeks $4.5M

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The first of what could be many sexual abuse lawsuits against The Catlin Gabel School in Portland has been filed.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Kim Wilson claims in a suit filed Monday that she was molested 80 times by Richardson Shoemaker, a long-time sixth-grade math teacher. She is seeking $4.5 million in damages.

Wilson accused Catlin Gabel administrators of doing little if anything about Shoemaker, despite complaints by 23 female students.

The posh private school released a report in December detailing decades of abuse by at least nine instructors including Shoemaker. He died in 2018.

The school said in an email that they take the allegations seriously and apologize to any students who were subjected to sexual misconduct and abuse.