Seattle Prep Reaches Settlement In Former Student’s Sexual Abuse Lawsuit For $2.425 Million
Seattle Prep, which is a private Catholic school in Seattle, has agreed to pay $2.425 million as part of a settlement to a former student who became a victim of sexual abuse by the then school softball coach.
$2.425 Million Settlement Reached by Seattle Prep in Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
The former student had filed a lawsuit in 2022 alleging that she was sexually abused by the former coach.
In a statement, Seattle Prep school said that the case was resolved last month for events that happened almost 20 years ago.
The school also said that tuition and donation funds were not used to resolve the case and reach the $2.425 million settlement.
In 2022, Seattle Prep was hit by two lawsuits by attorney Darrell Cochran, who was representing two women who alleged that they were sexually abused when they were studying in the school. Both women were excellent athletes and were being trained by the predatory softball coach.
The lawsuit did not name the two women, and they were referred to only by their initials. The lawsuit charged the management of Seattle Prep school with failing to protect them from the coach, who was not named in the lawsuit since he had not been formally charged.
The lawsuit stated that in the 2000s, the particular coach was training a number of young female athletes and sexually abused them. The coach was grooming the school’s varsity softball team. He later also became Seattle Prep’s athletic director. The lawsuit alleged that the school management knowingly ignored the softball coach’s predatory misdemeanor. The school had denied the allegations then.
The school management turned a blind eye despite an investigation conducted by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. In its report, the OSPI referred to a letter which was sent by a former student to the president of the school’s Board of Trustees in September 2020, which highlighted how the coach used grooming techniques and emotional manipulation to force the students into sexual misconduct. The report also said that the coach spent long hours with the young girls behind closed doors. The coach is also charged with trying to gain the attention of the young students by accompanying them on shopping trips and to dinners.
The erring coach had resigned his job from Seattle Prep in 2006. He later started teaching at a Spokane high school and remained in this position until 2020, when his teaching credentials were suspended. However, the authorities did not permanently revoke his credentials.
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