At least nine former teachers and other staffers at Portland private school Catlin Gabel sexually abused, groped or had sex with students in the last four decades, according to a year-long internal investigation commissioned by the school’s board of trustees.

The explosive report listed complaints or allegations of abuse against another 12 former faculty members and coaches that could not be corroborated. The exact number of victims, many now in their 50s and 60s, may never be known.

Students and even teachers who attempted to blow the whistle on the suspected abusers usually saw their complaints go nowhere. That was particularly true in the case of longtime sixth-grade teacher Richardson “Dick” Shoemaker.

“These were little girls for the most part and the perpetrators were grown men,” said Bart Eberwein, a Portland construction executive and chair of the Catlin Gabel board. “The adults were being protected and the girls weren’t. There’s no sugarcoating that.”

Three of the six former teachers and coaches named as abusers in the report were eventually forced out of their jobs, including Shoemaker, who died in 2018. Two of the abusers’ misconduct came to public attention before Wednesday’s report, when longtime teacher Robert “Bob” Ashe was successfully sued in 1995 for sexual assaulting a student from another school on the Catlin campus and when coach Deonte Huff was charged in 2013 with sexual abuse and luring a minor and later convicted. Ashe was forced out in 1995 and died in 2000.

Three other male teachers named in the report, each of whom the investigation found was credibly accused of engaging in sexual activity with a student or students, apparently faced no consequences.

Catlin apologized to parents in a letter it issued Wednesday. “It is clear that Catlin Gabel failed on multiple accounts -- in protecting students, in addressing the abuse, and in enacting change,” the school said in a letter to alumni and their families that was distributed Wednesday afternoon. “We profoundly apologize for the pain and suffering that these alumni endured. What happened is inexcusable.”

The inappropriate behavior dates back to the 1970s. The most recent case of known abuse, involving a teacher left unidentified in the new report, came this decade and resulted in the employee getting fired in 2016. None of the alleged perpetrators are still employed by Catlin Gabel.

The many, many instances of sexual abuse by so many educators would be shocking at any school. That is particularly true for Catlin, an elite private institution that has served generations of Portlanders.

Tuition is more than $34,000 a year and admission to the 775-student school is competitive. It enjoys a reputation as a solid, progressive institution.

Catlin Gabel’s board of trustees launched the investigation last October after a former student alleged on Facebook that she’d been abused by a Catlin teacher. The board hired Portland lawyer Lori Watson to conduct the probe.

Former students repeatedly told Watson the relationships between some Catlin teachers and students seemed unnaturally close. “Multiple individuals raised concerns about faculty members marrying students after they graduated,” the investigator said in the report. “Some stated that they believed the faculty-student relationships began while the students were still attending Catlin.”

It’s uncertain how complete the report is. Watson only interviewed self-identified victims who came forward to either the school or her. She didn’t engage in more proactive outreach out of concern of traumatizing victims a second time, the report states.

The report identifies just six of the proven or likely perpetrators by name. Watson and the Catlin Gabel administration decided they would identify alleged perpetrators only if there were multiple, credible first-hand accounts of abuse, an admission of guilt or supporting documentary evidence

Named as “employees believed to have engaged in sexual misconduct:”

Richardson Shoemaker, sixth-grade teacher, bus driver, occasional P.E. teacher, girls’ soccer coach employed by Catlin from 1964 to 2001

Shoemaker was repeatedly accused by girl students of a groping and inappropriate touching. He was also popular with many students, who fondly called him “Shoe.” He was such a Catlin Gabel institution; the school had his portrait painted on the side of one of its buses.

Twenty-three former students told the investigator that Shoemaker put his hands inside their shirts, rubbed, touched or fondled their breasts and patted them on their backside. He did so openly, frequently asking girls to sit on his lap, for instance, in full view of the rest of the class. He allegedly kissed at least one girl when they were alone in the classroom.

Some girls learned to keep their distance so they could not be groped.

Girls feared they would be ostracized if they made a stink. But in the 1990s, a group of classmates had had enough, the investigation found. They reported their concerns to a teacher. In a follow-up conversation, the teacher told one of the girls they held Shoemaker’s future in her hands.

Nothing much happened, the report says. It’s unclear whether Shoemaker was disciplined in any way at the time.

In the mid-1990s, two Catlin Gabel teachers confronted Shoemaker about his inappropriate physical contact with his students, telling him not to have students sit in his lap any more. Shoemaker grew upset and walked out of the meeting, the report says.

Several years later, another group of students again reported Shoemaker this time to a female faculty member. Rather than go to a superior in the administration, the teacher advised the girls they go directly to Shoemaker and let him know he was making them uncomfortable. Though they were only 11 or 12 at the time, the girls did just that, confronting Shoemaker in the gym,

Shoemaker grew emotional, teared up, and apologized profusely.

The girls told the investigators that as far as they know, nothing came of their complaints.

Finally, in 2000, Catlin Gabel learned from the Washington County Sheriff’s office that it was investigating Shoemaker on a sex abuse charge not involving a Catlin student. Lark Palma, then head of school, decided that between the sheriff’s investigation and a complaint from a 1970s alumna, she had enough to get rid of Shoemaker.

He resigned at the end of the 2000-2001 school year. After his departure, Catlin officials got three more complaints about Shoemaker’s inappropriate contact. They informed county law enforcement officials and the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Law enforcement officials eventually determined they had insufficient evidence to proceed.

Robert Ashe -- high school English teacher and theater adviser and soccer coach employed by Catlin from 1967 to 1995

In the 1970s, Ashe allegedly took a female student to an all-male drinking event, got drunk and tried to kiss her. He also allegedly tried to have sex with a student while on a trip abroad.

In 1995, Ashe was sued for allegedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old from another school on the Catlin campus and elsewhere in the late 1970s. He allegedly kissed her, touched her breasts and vagina and forced her to touch his penis. Some of the abuse occurred on the Catlin campus. The Oregonian reported in 2000 that Ashe paid her a settlement but forbade her to disclose the amount.

After learning of the lawsuit, Catlin Gabel administrators negotiated a deal in which Ash resigned.

Mark Petersen, fifth-grade teacher employed by Catlin from 1975 to 1997

A 12th-grade female student alleged that in the 1970s, he’d engaged in sexual misconduct including having her touch his genitals and asking her to have sex. Petersen left the school in 1997. He admitted his conduct to Watson, her report says.

The report does not indicate he faced any consequence for his misconduct.

Stephen Richmond, theater and shop teacher employed by Catlin from 1973 to 1982

Allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with multiple male students, including nude full-body contact with one.

Richmond denied all allegations to Watson, her report says. The report does not indicate he faced any consequence for his many reported instances of misconduct.

Samuel Crawley, high school English teacher employed by Catlin Gabel from 1973 to 1984

Crawley allegedly touched and fondled one 12th grade student. After she turned 18 while still at Catlin, she and Crawley began having sex. “Everyone at Catlin knew this stuff between students and teachers was going on,” the victim told Watson. Crawley also allegedly engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with multiple other students before he left the school in 1984.

Manvel Schauffler, who died in 2013, was Catlin’s head of school from the late 1960s to 1982. He apparently heard rumors of the sexual abuse and confronted Crawley, the report says. Crawley then wrote to the young woman “...I had to speak with Schauff this week about my relationship with you. Denied everything and made counter accusations . . . Must close, my thoughts are with you . . . S.”

Crawley told Watson he never sexually abused any student or had a sexual relationship with a student. He had no explanation for why he wrote he had “denied everything” to his boss.

The report does not indicate he faced any consequence for his sexual misconduct.

Deonte Huff, PE teacher and coach of multiple athletic teams employed by Catlin Gabel part-time from 2010 to 2013

Huff allegedly entered into a sexual relationship with a 12th grade student. A parent reported the behavior to the school. The administration reported the conduct to law enforcement and terminated Huff, who later pled guilty to criminal sexual abuse charges and was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

Watson, the investigator, detailed three other cases of teachers who she “believed to have engage in sexual misconduct” with students. She withheld the men’s names, because the allegations against them are based on a single first-hand account not supplemented by documentary evidence or legal action.

Among them was a male teacher employed by Catlin in the late 1960s and ‘70s who allegedly began having sex with a student when she in the seventh or eighth grade.

Also on that list was the most recent case of known inappropriate behavior. At some point after 2010, a Catlin employee engaged in a relationship with a high school student. They engaged in protracted communications. He would send the girl gifts, including underwear, and asked her to provide pictures of herself.

The girl’s parents reported the relationship after the girl graduated. Bazemore, who by then was head of school, launched an internal investigation and in 2016 terminated the employee for inappropriate contact.

Watson, the investigator, included in her report ten other cases she learned of. Some didn’t rise to the level of sexual abuse. Some were clearly cases of a faculty member “grooming” a student for possible sexual advances in the future, Watson said.

Attitudes about what constitutes sexual abuse have changed over the years.

Four decades ago, “there was a lack of training about these abusive behaviors,” Bazemore said. “I do think that there were relationships that trumped sound decision-making.”

Catlin has scheduled townhall meetings with both parents and students on Thursday. School officials said they’ve been advised to expect an “echo effect,” when additional former students decide to go public with their experiences after reading the new report.

While the investigation was underway, Catlin did not have a single family pull a student from the school over the abuse controversy.

“I think there’s been a range of reaction,” Bazemore said. “So far, I’m hearing a lot of appreciation that we did the investigation.”

After learning of the scope of the abuse and the repeated failures of prior administrations to take action, they may not be so appreciative, school officials acknowledged. But they said they are prepared for that.

“We need to own our past,” said Indira Nallakrishnan, vice chair of the Catlin board of trustees.

Eberwein, who like Nallakrishnan, sends his children to Catlin, was visibly moved when talking about the generations of Catlin students who were victimized twice – first by their abusers, then by teachers and administrators who discounted or ignored their complaints.

“These kids tried to report it and they weren’t listened to,” Eberwein said. “They were shunned. That’s the right takeaway.”