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Open Bible reaches settlement with girls |
By B. Scott
Anderson, Newberg Graphic reporter
E-mail Scott at
banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
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PORTLAND — A multimillion
dollar lawsuit against Open Bible Christian School and Church for
the sexual abuse of three teenage girls by two coaches was resolved
this month.
The case was filed in July 2006 after Edward “Todd” Woods and
Charlie Lasiter, coaches at the school, were fired in November 2005
after allegations surfaced of sexual abuse of female players and
providing them alcohol. Police said that Lasiter had sex with a
16-year-old girl at his home and that Woods had inappropriate sexual
contact with one underage girl, as well as one 18-year-old female
student. Both were convicted of criminal charges in the spring of
2006.
The essence of the lawsuit, which had asked for $1 million for each
girl for emotional damages, was that school officials were grossly
negligent in failing to conduct employment background checks on
Lasiter and Woods. Neither had prior records of sexual misconduct,
but Woods had been cited for eight driving infractions in the past
15 years, including driving while suspended, and was sued in small
claims court. Lasiter pled guilty in 2001 to driving under the
influence of intoxicants after a bench warrant was issued when he
failed a diversion program.
Before the lawsuit was filed, Open Bible school officials moved
swiftly to enact new hiring procedures, including background checks
for criminal records, as well as with records at the Department of
Motor Vehicles.
The settlement “brought to an end a long and difficult process,”
said Kelly Clark, the attorney for the girls, in a press release.
“In this day and age, for this school to not check out the people
who will be working with school kids is inexcusable and
unconscionable,” Clark said. “The school did no background check
whatsoever on one of the coaches and did only a cursory reference
check on the other. That is just astounding.”
One of the girls, who requested anonymity, said a year of attending
criminal trials, meeting with lawyers, giving depositions and
talking with detectives is a year she’ll never get back because of
an ordeal that started with two coaches at Open Bible.
“You don’t know what it’s like to have your innocence taken from
you until it happens,” she said. ... “I’m glad it’s over and the
healing can begin. I hope that other Christian schools can learn
from the mistakes that Open Bible made and create a safe place for
those who are seeking what I was — an academic education in a caring
Christian community.”
Clark said the settlement will be paid mostly by the school’s
insurance company.
“They did the heavy lifting, you could say,” he said.
Clark also said he was happy with the way both legal sides handled
the delicate case.
“This was not what I’ll call a nasty lawsuit,” he said. “The school
and the school attorneys did a standup job of treating the girls
with respect. The mistakes they made were the ones they made early
on and weren’t ones of malice. I think they handled the case the
right way ... I’ve seen a lot of cases where the victims are
revictimized.”
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Published
May 19, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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