CHS softball coach makes court appearance

A 58-year-old Camas School District employee made his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court yesterday. Robbyn D. Mattson, 58, has been charged with several counts of sexual misconduct involving 17 female students at Camas High School. These include eight counts of third-degree child molestation, five counts of second-degree sexual misconduct and four counts of fourth-degree assault. Judge Robert Lewis set his bail at $10,000 and placed him on supervised release. Mattson has been ordered to stay within Clark County and the Portland metro area, have no contact with minors, refrain from using drugs or alcohol, and live at his Camas residence. His next court appearance is at 9 a.m. Friday. According to court records, a 15-year-old CHS student told her mother that Mattson had grabbed her buttocks on multiple occasions, and that other girls at the high school indicated this had also happened to them. Video surveillance allegedly confirmed that Mattson would stand in the school commons area between class periods when it was crowded, and intentionally grab or brush the buttocks of multiple female students. He would then go into his janitor's closet for up to an hour before emerging again. Police have sent a rag from the closet to the state crime lab to be tested for semen and DNA. After being questioned by police, Mattson allegedly admitted that he touched the girls' buttocks intentionally for the "thrill," and "getting away with something." Mattson was a softball coach and janitor at CHS until being placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday, Dec. 16, after the allegations first surfaced. He is a longtime Camas resident and served as the head softball coach from 2003 through 2008, and has worked as a janitor at the high school since 2010. Doreen McKercher, public information officer for the district, emphasized that Mattson is not to be confused with Robert Mattson, a teacher at Skyridge Middle School. After police learned of the allegations, detectives spent the next two days at the high school interviewing Mattson, victims, witnesses and staff members, according to Sgt. Scot Boyles. The School District issued a statement following the arrest. "There is nothing more important to us than the safety of the students we serve," said Steve Marshall, CHS principal. "So once we became aware of this situation, we took immediate action to protect both our students and the educational environment of our school. Over the past three days, we have shared in the pain felt by these students, their families and the community. Every day, we are responsible for the safety of more than 2,000 students. There is a trust put in us to protect the children we serve and that trust is something I value and want to keep." Camas High School counseling staff will be available to students throughout the winter break, which began Dec. 22 and continues until Jan. 5 At the time of hire, all district employees are required to undergo an FBI background check and are fingerprinted by the Washington State Patrol.

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