St. Helens Mayor-elect organizes town hall amid school sex abuse scandals

ST. HELENS, Ore. (KOIN) — Parents, students, lawmakers, and local celebrities showed up in droves Friday night for a town hall in St. Helens to discuss the next steps after a series of recent sex abuse scandals rocked the school district.

"We refuse to stand by while our kids are in danger," said community member Miranda Gaston, who self-identified as a former victim of sex abuse and is now the parent of a St. Helens student. "The emotional pain that was caused cannot be put into words. Like all of you, somebody that I was supposed to trust and feel safe around was the one that hurt me."

Gaston spoke to community members at the St. Helens Senior Center during a town hall organized by Mayor-elect Jennifer Massey. Many in attendance shed tears as people testified about the collective trauma of the slew of abuse allegations from several teachers, accusations of neglect from administrators, and discussed the next steps.

"We weren't getting the full picture. And nobody has actually had the platform to actually ask questions and get answers," Massey said.

The Oregon Department of Human Services announced it is investigating three more St. Helens High School staff members for allegations of sexual abuse. That includes accusations that the St. Helens School District Superintendent and the St. Helens High School principal failed to report the abuse.

This comes after two current and former teachers with St. Helens high School were arrested last week on sex abuse charges. On Thursday, the St. Helens Police Department said they are investigating a St. Helens Middle School teacher for "offensive physical contact" with students.

"Make no mistake about it, the single most important group in protecting these kids is us, their parents," Gaston said.

Among those in attendance was Oregon Senator Suzanne Weber, who vowed to help make change happen.

Doug Weaver is a social media influencer and former St. Helens student. He spoke at the town hall meeting about his experiences with former coaches.

"I do feel I have a responsibility to be here and show that I'm not just going to make these videos and blow up this town and walk away and ignore it," Weaver said.

Political advocate and Ms. Oregon, Amber Rosenberry also made an appearance.

"A law only changes if the citizen proposes the update. It is our job to stay aware and stay involved," Rosenberry said.

Rosenberry added she and others will be meeting all next week to hit the ground running when it comes to changing the Oregon revised statute. This is to hold mandatory reporters accountable at schools when instances of abuse do crop up. Advocates said it could be some time before any changes are made into state law.