Choir teacher Eric Stearns pleaded not guilty to additional sex abuse charges Monday. He’ll remain behind bars until a hearing on Friday.
ST. HELENS, Ore. — St. Helens High School choir teacher Eric Stearns is being held in jail without bail after pleading not guilty to additional sex abuse charges on Monday.
Police arrested Stearns again over the weekend. He now faces 18 sexual abuse charges against 12 different people.
“I was suspicious that we were going to get additional victims, and we have,” said Joseph Hogue, St. Helens Acting Police Chief. “The information really kept coming in, so we’re here for round two of indictments.”
Deputy District Attorney Erin Brady, in an arrest warrant affidavit filed Friday, said Stearns “has been committing crimes against vulnerable members of this community for years unchecked and has preyed upon not only minors, but adults as well.”
Stearns had been out of jail after posting bail on sex abuse charges that were …