OREGON CITY, Ore. (KOIN) — A substitute teacher in Oregon City has been indicted for sexual abuse and harassment.
Norman Scott, 65, of Milwaukie, was arrested on July 28 for an incident that allegedly happened in October 2015. He is accused of inappropriately touching students at Gardiner Middle School in Oregon City.
According to Oregon City Police Sgt. David Edwins, the incident was reported to school staff and police the same day it happened and the investigation continued for months.
Scott was indicted on 4 counts of sexual abuse in the 3rd degree and 18 counts of harassment. Scott was held at the Clackamas County Jail on $100,000 bail, Edwins said he is out of jail now.
Scott was registered as a substitute teacher by the Clackamas Education Services District, that process involved checking his license and contacting previous employers.
“That doesn’t rise to the level of background check, so we verify that he is properly licensed and make sure that employers haven’t terminated him for a violation,” said Ron Hitchcock, assistant superintendent for Clackamas ESD.
Hitchcock says the school district where the teacher would be substituting is responsible for the background check. In this case, that’s the Oregon City School District, which has not responded to KOIN’s request for comment.
Police believe this was an isolated incident, but if anyone has information about other victims, they would like to hear about it.
“You should be able to trust teachers,” said Kathy Adrian, a retired North Clackamas County School District teacher. ” If you can’t trust a teacher and you can’t trust a pastor who can you trust? It’s just difficult.
KOIN 6 News will have more information when it becomes available.
