Police have once again arrested Eric Stearns — the St. Helens High School choir teacher facing a slew of sexual abuse charges — this time for additional charges stating he allegedly abused more students in recent years.
Court records filed Friday afternoon show Stearns, 46, now faces 10 additional sex crime charges, including five felonies, stemming from interviews with additional victims. The dates of the alleged abuse take place from 2015 to the current school year.
A St. Helens High School teacher faces additional charges of alleged sexual abuse against minors and adults. The abuse allegedly spanned the past decade.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
One charge includes sexual abuse in the first degree, which carries a mandatory prison sentence of at least six years. He faces a total of 13 charges of sexual abuse in the second degree, and four charges of sexual abuse in the third degree.
Columbia County, Oregon, Deputy District Attorney Erin Brady wrote in a Jan. 3 affidavit that some victims did not report the alleged abuse by Stearns until he was initially arrested. Brady’s office is still looking for and interviewing potential victims, she said.
“The defendant has been committing crimes against vulnerable members of this community for years unchecked and has preyed upon not only minors, but adults as well,” Brady wrote.
Stearns has been on paid administrative leave since his arrest in November. St. Helens Superintendent Scot Stockwell and St. Helens High School Principal Katy Wagner also remain on paid leave.
Former St. Helens math teacher Mark Collins faces two charges of sexual abuse. Wagner was arrested in November for allegedly failing to report years of abuse by members of her staff.
Stearns had previously posted bail, but now faces a new bail of $300,000. He turned himself into the Columbia County Jail, according to the jail roster.
This story is developing and may be updated.