Judge postpones CHS janitor’s court hearing

A 58-year-old Camas School District employee has had his arraignment postponed. Robbyn D. Mattson, 58, appeared in Clark County Superior Court Friday but did not yet have legal counsel. His hearing has been postponed to Tuesday, Jan. 13. Mattson 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. He has been out of jail since early last week on $10,000 bond and supervised release. Mattson has been ordered to stay within Clark County and the Portland metro area, have no contact with minors or his alleged victims, refrain from using drugs or alcohol, and live at his Camas residence. According to court records, a 15-year-old CHS student told her mother that Mattson had grabbed her buttocks in the school commons area, and at first she thought it was an accident because it was very crowded. However, after she learned that other girls at the high school indicated this had also happened to them, she realized it was probably intentional. Video surveillance allegedly confirmed that Mattson would stand in the school commons area between class periods and intentionally grab or brush the buttocks of 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 Dec. 16, after the allegations first surfaced. He has lived in the Camas area for several years and served as the head softball coach from 2003 through 2008. He 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 T. Mattson, a teacher at Skyridge Middle School. 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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