Federal lawsuit accuses Oregon Youth Authority of ignoring sexual abuse for years

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Nearly a dozen men are now suing the state of Oregon, claiming they were sexually abused as teenagers while in custody at Maclaren Youth Correctional Facility. 

A new federal lawsuit accusing the State of Oregon as well as more than a dozen former Oregon Youth Authority directors and staff of failing to stop decades of sexual abuse at the Woodburn facility.

According to the lawsuit, a longtime doctor and PE teacher preyed on the boys for years while staff looked the other way. It also names another perpetrator and outlines a former police investigation which alleges the facility had a “coverup culture” for the abuse.

Each victim is now seeking $5 million in non-economic damages and $100,000 for counseling costs as their attorneys say the men are coming to grips with the harm caused to them as boys and the state’s role in allowing it:

“I’ve seen people in front of me that I would call tough guys who are breaking down in front of me crying because of the shame they feel and because they’re, frankly, confronting it for the first time,” Paul Galm with Galm Law Firm said.

The 11 men, now in their 30s and 40s, say they were repeatedly assaulted when they were as young as 13 years old while in state custody between 2000 and 2017.

The complaint accuses longtime pediatrician Dr. Edward Gary Edwards — who died in February — of repeatedly sexually abusing the boys during medical exams for nearly two decades.

This marks the sixth lawsuit lodged against OYA by Crew Janci, now representing 62 victims.

Attorneys say Edwards, known within the OYA facility as Dr. Cold Fingers, was given unfettered access to the youth despite a report filed with Oregon State Police in 2007.

“There was a report made to law enforcement, we believe, by a victim or a family member, and that despite that, and despite OYA being aware of that, Dr. Edwards was left in his position with unfettered access to youth for another 10 years,” said Attorney Peter Janci.

The complaint also named a new alleged perpetrator. One plaintiff has accused former gym teacher Susan Baumgartner of sexually abusing him about 20 times between 2001 and 2002 and allegedly baiting him to stay quiet with chewing tobacco.

But when the abuse came to light, attorneys say OYA failed to report or fire her:

“He was told to forget about it and not bring it up again,” Kendall Spinella with Crew Janci said. “She was allowed to resign quietly and with little accountability.”

In response to the latest lawsuit, OYA said, “The alleged conduct is abhorrent, and the accusations do not reflect what thousands of trusted adults do each day to help OYA youth become crime-free adults.”

After KOIN 6 News reported a significant backlog of abuse complaints, OYA said its professional standards office has reduced the number of aged reports by 40% in the last six months and has since stayed on top of current ones.

Attorneys told KOIN 6 News all of the state cases against OYA have now been moved to federal court, with a trial date set for November 2026.

KOIN 6 News has also reached out to OSP to ask what became of that historic report against Edwards, but we have yet to hear back.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.