SEATTLE — A private catholic school in Seattle will pay a $2.425 million settlement to a former student who was allegedly sexually abused by a former teacher and softball coach.
"Seattle Prep authorities knew [the teacher] was a danger to female students before and during the time our client attended the school. And they had to have known all the dangers inherent with teachers selectively sexually targeting students," said the former student's attorneys Darrell Cochran, founding partner, and Bridget Grotz, senior associate, of Pfau Cochran Vertitis Amala law.
The former student sued Seattle Preparatory School in 2022, alleging the school "willfully turned a blind eye" to the former coach's actions off of the field. The school previously denied the allegation.
In a statement, Seattle Prep said the school resolved the case last month which pertained to "events that transpired over 20 years ago," and added that tuition, donor funds and assets were not used to settle the case.
"A former Prep coach and teacher had an inappropriate relationship with a former student which largely transpired after the student had matriculated. Over the last several years, Seattle Prep and our attorneys have cooperated and followed due process," according to the statement. "Furthermore, Seattle Prep has in place the necessary and required safety programs and practices that put the safety of our students first. At all times, Seattle Prep treated the plaintiff with compassion and respect. One aspect of that treatment was an agreement to honor the plaintiff's confidentiality."
KING 5 is not naming the former coach as he was not officially charged with a crime, and does not typically name survivors of sexual abuse.
The former coach, who went on to become the school's athletics director, worked as at Seattle Prep from 1992 to 2006 and reportedly harassed several female students, according to the release.
Throughout her high school career, the student alleges she was “groomed, harassed and sexually abused” by her former softball coach, according to a new release about the settlement.
The former coach routinely violated the boundaries of the former student, the release states, by being “flirtatious and overly attentive.” He also isolated her for one-on-one meetings, called and texted her at night and attended unofficial team bonding events, according to the release.
His actions progressed to sexual advances and sexual contact, according to the student's attorneys.
The former coach resigned from Seattle Prep in 2006 and began teaching at a Spokane high school until 2020. His teaching credentials were suspended by the state, however the Washington Office for the Superintendent of Public Instruction did not permanently revoke his credentials, the release states.
Additional concerns about the former teacher were included in an investigation completed by the state's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Within OSPI’s report is a letter from the former student sent to the president of the school's Board of Trustees in September 2020, which claims the coach used "grooming techniques" and "emotional manipulation" that made the "transition to sexual advances seamless." The report also states that the former coach occasionally spent time with female students in his office with the door closed, and off campus accompanying students on shopping trips and to dinners.