St. Helens police arrest two high school teachers on sexual assault charges

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — On Tuesday, St. Helens police officers announced they had arrested a current and a former St. Helens High School teacher on charges of sexual assault. This comes after a two-month investigation by St Helens Police following allegations of sexual abuse at the school.

The current teacher has been identified as 46-year-old Eric Stearns. He teaches choir, according to the district’s website. Court documents show he has been charged with seven counts of sexual abuse.

The former teacher, 64-year-old Mark Collins, is also accused of inappropriately touching minors at school. He has been charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of attempted second-degree sexual abuse.

St. Helens police say they have received reports of alleged sexual abuse, leading them to conduct interviews and issue a subpoena regarding documents related to the allegations.

The case is now before the Columbia County District Attorney’s office, and both Stearns and Collins are in the Columbia County Jail. The district has a board meeting on Wednesday. KATU is on your side and we will press them on the timeline of these allegations, and whether they have done enough to protect students.