Child abuse charges: 2 teachers, 2 coaches, 1 child-welfare worker

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

We highlight 5 EXAMPLES of government employees arrested in Oregon for child sex crimes in the PAST 5 MONTHS.   That averages a public employee being charged every month in Oregon for child abuse.

#1. KATU Reports a Public School teacher, “A teacher at Portland Public Schools has been arrested for allegedly luring a child online for sex.Portland Police say on July 18, Hosford Middle School teacher Craig Douglas-Meyers was in an online chat room talking to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl in Yuba City, California.They say he was making plans to meet the child for sex, but he was actually talking to an undercover cop. Investigators in Yuba City identified him, traced is location to Portland, and contacted Portland Police.“This was incredibly overt,” said Sergeant Trevor Tyler…” *

#2. The Oregonian reports on a Portland City Employee and little-league coach, “A city employee who has coached Little League girls softball in the past is accused of accessing online chat rooms to view child sexual abuse images.Matthew Thomas Hoyt, 39, a Portland utility worker, was arrested Monday morning at Gabriel Park near his city-owned work vehicle, according to a federal complaint filed in court Tuesday.A federal agent used a web page to help identify and locate Hoyt; the site listed him as a team coach for the Beaumont Flying Pie Pizza girls softball team”*

#3. A State child-welfare worker has been accused of sex abuse of minors, “A child welfare caseworker with the Oregon Department of Human Services has been accused of sex abuse against a foster child.Wilbur Morris, 47, pleaded not guilty in Columbia County Circuit Court on Tuesday to the charges of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, luring a minor and official misconduct in the first degree.” *

#4. Bend Bulletin reports a public high school coach has been charged, “One of Oregon’s top high school girls basketball coaches, Roy “Stub” Travis Jr., has been accused of repeatedly sexually abusing one of his players across three counties in 2022…Travis was a longtime coach at Crane Union High School in Harney County. He coached 30 years of football at the high school before stepping down in 2022 and 28 seasons of girls basketball before stepping down in 2023. *

#5. The Columbian reports of a teacher arrested in Oregon, “Battle Ground High School teacher Kevin Weeks was arrested Saturday in Oregon on a charge of first-degree online sexual corruption of a minor. Weeks, 57, is being held in the Linn County, Ore., Jail.Battle Ground Public Schools placed Weeks on administrative leave Sunday. A district spokesperson said Weeks is a business and marketing teacher at Battle Ground High School and has worked in the district since 2002.” *

* all people charged are innocent until proven guilty, and sometimes charges are reversed.

These abuse charges come fresh off of a December 2023 verdict where the State had to pay $40 million in damages for not protecting children from child abuse in the foster system.   Can Oregon do more to protect our children?