Community Education Police & Fire
Parents sue Peninsula School District in Evergreen sexual abuse case
Parents of students who were victims of alleged sexual abuse by a teacher at Evergreen Elementary School are suing Peninsula School District.
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Pierce County prosecutors charged Jordan Roy Henderson with 12 counts of first-degree child molestation. Allegations against Henderson in court documents claim he sexually abused female students at the school over a two-year period.
The district placed him on administrative leave Feb. 26. Superintendent Krestin Bahr on March 15 informed the public an investigation was under way. Law enforcement arrested Henderson in April. He is under house arrest, awaiting trial set for Dec. 3.
The district declined to provide a statement on the suit, citing its no-comment policy on active litigation.
Alleged negligence, gender discrimination
Plaintiffs in the suit include the parents of four students, filing individually for themselves and on behalf of their children. Their attorneys allege the district displayed “gross negligence” by failing to stop the abuse.
The district allowed Henderson to have “continuous and unfettered access” to the children, leading to multiple instances of sexual abuse that took place at school, according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 20 in Pierce County Superior Court by attorneys Darrell L. Cochran and Kevin M. Hastings of Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC.
The suit further alleges that the students were victims of discrimination based on their gender. Henderson targeted and groomed the female students, attorneys state, thereby depriving them of educational opportunity.
“Minor plaintiffs were required to attend school at all relevant times, where they were exposed to the toxic and sexualized environment that Henderson created,” the suit says. “Plaintiffs (the parents) were left with the untenable choice of minor plaintiffs not attending school or of attending school in an environment that was not conducive to learning.”
The suit alleges that the district improperly allowed Henderson’s mother, also a district employee, to continue working at Evergreen after Henderson’s arrest.
‘Extreme and outrageous’
Attorneys for the plaintiffs charge that the district’s lack of oversight of Henderson resulted in their suffering “mental anguish, deprivation of educational opportunities and severe emotional distress.” Citing state law, they charge the district is responsible for negligence, gross negligence, sexual discrimination, infliction of emotional distress and “outrage.”
The suit seeks a jury trial by the spring of 2026, according to court documents.