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Oregon man sues Washougal schools over alleged abuse by school bus driver in 1980s

School bus driver was later convicted of two counts of statutory rape and three counts of raping a child in separate case

By Doug Flanagan, Columbian staff writer
Published: January 21, 2025, 12:27pm

A Springfield, Ore., man is suing the Washougal School District, alleging the district failed to protect him from being sexually abused by a school bus driver in the 1980s.

The lawsuit was filed Jan. 13 in Clark County Superior Court. It seeks unspecified damages for “physical and psychological injuries” allegedly inflicted by bus driver Robert Gouin in 1986 and 1987 when the plaintiff was 13 to 14 years old and a student at Jemtegaard Middle School.

The complaint states that Gouin abused the plaintiff on property that the school district “owned, operated or controlled,” including school buses. The lawsuit states that the district “knew or should have known” Gouin posed a danger to the plaintiff and other children, and “failed to take reasonable steps to protect” them.

“As a result, Robert Gouin was able to use his position as an employee with the defendant to sexually abuse plaintiff,” the complaint states.

The Washougal School District had not received any information about the civil suit as of Jan. 16, according to Les Brown, the district’s director of communications and technology.

“The extent to what they (district officials) knew or should have known about Gouin and his inappropriate engagements and involvement with the students on the school bus is something that we’re going to be digging into pretty heavily,” said Vincent Nappo, an attorney for Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, the Seattle-based law firm representing the plaintiff.

Gouin was a licensed foster parent to 60 foster children between 1983 and 1988, when “he used his authority and power in a parent/child relationship to sexually abuse children for years,” according to the law firm’s website.

In February 1989, Gouin was charged in Clark County Superior Court with 13 counts of raping and molesting several male foster children in his care. He admitted to abusing five boys, all 13 to 15 years old, on numerous occasions between 1985 and his arrest in December 1988. He pleaded guilty in May of that year to two counts of statutory rape and three counts of raping a child.

Describing Gouin’s behavior as “detestable” and “despicable,” Superior Court Judge Tom Lodge handed Gouin a 20-year prison sentence and a $70,000 fine. Gouin has since died, according to Nappo.

“All of these boys were dealing with their own dysfunctional backgrounds in the foster care system and juvenile justice issues and group homes and foster homes,” Nappo said. “(The plaintiff’s) whole childhood was pretty chaotic.”

Child sexual abuse as a trauma “is very unique, and it’s different than almost any other type of trauma,” Nappo said.

“Most individuals who suffer that type of trauma avoid dealing with it, and in fact, the very nature of the trauma itself actually works against the victim from wanting to confront it, talk about it, deal with it, reveal it. They blame themselves for it. They’re ashamed of it,” Nappo said. “(For) all these reasons, they typically go decades into their adult life until they finally decide to do something about it.”

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The plaintiff decided to file the suit because another of Gouin’s victims filed a similar case in 2024, Nappo said.

“Other victims have heard about the case and are deciding to do something for the first time themselves and speak out about what happened to them and get answers and seek accountability,” he added.

The law firm is representing five clients, including the plaintiff in this case, who allege that Gouin sexually abused them.

“(Some of them) are definitely connected to the criminal case,” Gouin said. “I think we’ve spoken to probably 10 to 15 victims. These cases are too individual and personal, so (we won’t bring) a class-action suit (forward), but whether other victims come forward or end up becoming part of the case as witnesses or possibly bringing their own case is yet to be determined.”

Nappo said that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if more people come forward.

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