A former softball coach is being sued by a Bend High School student who claims he entered the locker room as the players were changing.
Lauren Glasser filed a complaint in Deschutes County Circuit Court on December 20th, demanding a jury trial and $500,000 in damages for intentional emotional distress and breach of privacy.
According to the lawsuit, on March 11, 2024, Robert Ray, a 65-year-old softball coach at the time, entered the girls’ locker room on purpose as the pupils were getting ready for practice.
Ray was told to leave the locker room, but he refused, according to the lawsuit. Glasser claims that in order to arouse or satisfy his sexual need, he was watching her change.
Glasser, who is now eighteen, was seventeen at the time of the alleged occurrence.
A request for comment from Ray was not answered.
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Four days after the alleged event, on March 15, Ray was put on paid leave, according to a Bend-La Pine School District spokesman.
Two softball players claimed to have witnessed Ray surreptitiously snooping into the female locker room while female students were changing their clothes on at least two occasions during the school district’s investigation into the event.
Ray’s contract as Bend High School’s softball coach was not extended following the investigation.
The said event happened prior to the 2024 softball season’s opening game. When the Lava Bears won the Class 5A state championship, Carey Shaughnessy was serving as interim head coach.
Since the Bend-La Pine School District is not a named party in the complaint, it declined to comment on the issue.
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–Nik Streng investigates Oregon high school athletics. You may contact him at @NikStreng or [email protected].
