According to a Columbia County prosecutor, Eric Stearns, the choir teacher at St. Helens High School, is back in detention and faces a fresh indictment with additional sex abuse counts after six more alleged victims were found.
When police arrived at Stearns’ house earlier in the day when he wasn’t there, the 46-year-old turned himself in to the Columbia County Jail on Saturday afternoon.
Filed in court Friday afternoon, the new 18-count indictment claims that 12 separate individuals were sexually abused beginning in January 2015 and, in certain circumstances, continuing into the beginning of current school year. In mid-November, his employer put him on leave.
According to the indictment, he was accused of groping students’ lips, necks, buttocks, and chests.
13 counts of second-degree abuse, four counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and one instance of first-degree sexual abuse are now included in Stearns’ 18-count indictment.
Following the identification of six new alleged victims, the indictment increased a prior misdemeanor charge to a felony and added 10 more sex crime charges, including five felonies, according to Columbia County Deputy District Attorney Erin Brady.
Four of the six, two of whom are still minors, were Stearns’ students at the time of the alleged offenses.
Brady wrote to the court that the other two, who were adults at the time of the alleged offenses and were connected to the defendant through his positions at St. Helens High School, did not report the defendant until they heard of his recent arrest because they each feared that his reputation and widespread presence in the community would make it impossible for these victims to be heard.
When Stearns touched one of the alleged adult victims’ lips on November 1, 2022, the indictment stated that the victim was physically incapacitated and so unable to give consent.
On July 29, 2021, he allegedly touched the other adult victim’s genitalia without getting her permission.
The fresh indictment was filed in Columbia County Circuit Court on Friday, despite the grand jury returning it on Thursday.
The district attorney’s office requested a warrant for Stearns’ re-arrest on the new indictment, the revocation of his freedom, and a higher bond amount of $340,000 on the same day the indictment was filed.
According to court documents filed Friday, Circuit Judge Michael T. Clarke denied Stearns the right to a court-appointed attorney and instead set his bond at $300,000. This made Stearns financially unfit.
Brady stated to the court, “The defendant has been preying on not only minors but also adults and has been committing crimes against vulnerable members of this community for years without any consequences.” The State is concerned about the community’s continued safety in light of these additional charges, which include one Ballot Measure 11 charge.
After Stearns was first arrested on November 12, his lawyer Jennifer Myrick questioned the timing of the new, extended charge, the arrest warrant, and the court’s abrupt reversal finding Stearns unsuitable for a public defense attorney.
According to Myrick, it is quite unusual and worrisome for the court to declare someone financially ineligible several weeks after their appointment and at the same time that a warrant is signed.
A St. Helens school system job advertising for a temporary high school choir instructor to cover Stearns’ position for the rest of the school year states that the annual income for the position ranges from $60,983 to $102,520, however Stearns’ salary was not easily accessible.
According to Myrick, Stearns’ most recent pay was between $67,000 and $80,000.
“This is troubling, and I am very concerned about his ability to have a fair trial in Columbia County,” she added.
She claimed that Stearns is being thrown the kitchen sink by the district attorney’s office. According to Myrick, a recent accusation against a high school classmate named as an adult victim relates to a party where they were both intoxicated and kissed.
According to Myrick, Stearns testing the lymph nodes of choir members who believed they were sick led to additional claims that he touched their necks without intending to have sex.
Stearns was charged with eight counts of molesting six pupils between 2015 and 2024 after being initially taken into custody on November 12. He was arraigned and entered a not guilty plea to seven counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one case of third-degree sex abuse the day after his arrest. On November 13, he posted $15,000, or 10% of a $150,000 bond, and was freed pending trial.
On the same day that a retired high school math teacher was detained, Stearns was arrested, sparking a protest in the area and a student walkout at the high school. Since then, the superintendent has been placed on paid administrative leave, and the high school principal has been arrested on charges of neglecting to disclose abuse reports.
As the Oregon Teachers Standards and Practices Commission, the state Department of Human Services, and the school district conducted their administrative and criminal investigations, they recruited an interim superintendent and a new acting high school principal.
Since Stearns is unable to post bond or pay an attorney otherwise, Myrick stated that she would file a notice to represent him.
— Maxine Bernstein writes about criminal justice and federal courts. You can contact her via [email protected], 503-221-8212, X@maxoregonian, or LinkedIn.
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