A Beaverton High School employee has filed a $504,000 lawsuit against the Beaverton School District, claiming he was sexually assaulted on campus by a special needs student.

The male employee worked as a paraeducator who helped the teenage boy in the classroom. In the two years leading up to the time he was attacked, the paraeducator had repeatedly expressed his concerns to his supervisors about the student's escalating behavior, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court.

District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler declined comment Friday, citing the pending litigation.

The lawsuit was filed the same day as two paraeducators for Portland Public Schools filed a $900,000 lawsuit, claiming that special needs elementary school students had repeatedly grabbed their breasts and stuck their hands down the women's pants.

The Beaverton High lawsuit claims the student also pulled down the pants and underwear of a female special education student and touched her genital area. The school didn't notify the girl's parents of the assault, the suit alleges.

The student also squeezed the buttocks of one teacher and grabbed another teacher between the legs, the suit says.

Administrators responded to the paraeducator's calls for help by telling him to ignore the student because the student was only trying to seek attention, the lawsuit states.

"They told him don't engage, turn your back," said Rebecca Cambreleng, the Portland lawyer representing the paraeducator.

That's what the paraeducator was doing on April 16 as he and another employee took on the task of watching the student after he'd assaulted another student, the lawsuit says.

The student stuck his hand down the paraeducator's pants and caused internal anal bruising, according to the lawsuit. As the paraeducator turned around, the student also grabbed the employee's genitals, the suit says.

The man now has post-traumatic stress disorder and hasn't been able to return to work, more than six months after the assault, the suit says.

"He's devastated because he loves his work," Cambreleng said. "He really wants to be able to help these kids."

The paraeducator reported that he'd been attacked to Beaverton High's principal and to police through a school resource officer, and the lawsuit says he was told he'd be kept up to date. But the suit claims that from then on, he heard nothing back from the district, the principal or the vice principal.

Beaverton police spokesman Jeremy Shaw told The Oregonian/OregonLive that police investigated the case and forwarded it to the Washington County juvenile department for review. It was unclear Friday if the boy has been charged or prosecuted.

The suit says that the teenager is still attending Beaverton High. The suit claims he poses an ongoing threat to staff and students.

-- Aimee Green