A Pierce County teacher has been charged with sexual assault. Now the students’ parents have filed a lawsuit

The parents of four girls allegedly abused by a former Peninsula School District teacher have sued the district, accusing it of failing to protect their children from harm.

Jordan Henderson, 35, was a fifth-grade teacher at Evergreen Elementary School when he was charged with nine counts of first-degree molestation in April. Three new counts were later added after a fourth student alleged that Henderson groped and threatened her several times in his classroom.

Henderson, who has pleaded not guilty, had been on administrative leave since the beginning of an investigation into the sexual assault claims, but a district spokesman said Thursday he was no longer employed by the district.

Henderson’s criminal case is still pending, court records show. The News Tribune previously reported that he is a deacon at a Gig Harbor church, where his father is pastor.

In a lawsuit filed this month in Pierce County Superior Court on behalf of the alleged victims, the district was accused of failing to supervise Henderson or protect students from “his sexually predatory behavior.”

The district allowed Henderson to have continued and unfettered access to the students even though it knew or should have known that the students were at significant risk of sexual abuse and that measures were needed to prevent it, the lawsuit said.

Attorney Kevin Hastings, who represents the plaintiffs in the civil case, said in an interview that he understood one or more teachers had concerns about Henderson’s interactions with young female students; a number of girls were known to stay in his classroom during lunch and recess; and one of his clients had reported to the school principal that she had noticed changes in the behavior of her female peers in class.

“They knew about it and didn’t take any action,” Hastings said in an interview.

Citing its policy of not publicly addressing pending lawsuits, the district declined to comment on the allegations. Attorney Brett Purtzer, who is representing Henderson in the criminal case, said “we support the not guilty plea” but declined further comment.

Hastings wrote to district Superintendent Krestin Bahr in April, criticizing the district’s response to the sexual abuse allegations and expressing dismay over his view that Henderson’s mother continued to teach the school’s third grade class, according to a copy of the letter to The News Tribune. by Hastings.

The circumstance left the students, the lawsuit said, “with the intolerable choice” of attending school in an environment not conducive to learning or not attending school at all. Evergreen Elementary is located in the unincorporated community of Lakebay in northwestern Pierce County.

A district spokesperson confirmed that Henderson’s mother was employed by the district, but did not respond to a follow-up inquiry about whether she worked at Evergreen Elementary.

Hastings told The News Tribune that some students remain enrolled at the school. Other students’ parents felt it necessary to move their children, he said.

“It’s a huge breach of trust and it’s so damaging,” he said of the alleged abuse, later adding: “This should never have happened.”

The Henderson church previously expressed support for him in a Facebook post signed by his father, The News Tribune reported in April. The message noted Henderson’s “highest quality and character as a man.”

“He is a great husband, a great father, a great teacher,” the message read, asking “that God reveal the full truth about these allegations.”

The lawsuit, filed on September 20, accused the district of negligence and infliction of emotional distress, among other things. It demands a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages, legal fees and other damages deemed appropriate by the court.