OREGON
The Oregonian
By Stuart Tomlinson | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on March 03, 2015
A 19-year-old woman who was sexually abused by her Salem-area high school teacher is suing the school, the woman’s attorneys said Tuesday.
The suit, which seeks $5.5 million in damages, was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court against the Western Mennonite School and the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference.
The suit alleges that school officials hired teacher Matthew Yoder “despite being aware of previous sexual abuse allegations against him and widespread concerns about Yoder’s inappropriate interactions with students,” a news release from attorneys with the Portland law firm of O’Donnell Clark & Crew says.
Yoder, 32, was arrested on numerous sex abuse charges on Valentine’s Day 2012. He pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree sex abuse in March 2014 in a Yamhill County courtroom. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison.
The Western Mennonite School fired Yoder after learning about the suspected abuse, school Principal Darrel Camp told The Oregonian in February 2012.
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