Two lawsuits have been filed Thursday towards Vancouver Public Faculties and James Mattson, a former faculty janitor who was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Jan. 20 within the state’s largest-ever voyeurism case.
Mattson, who labored within the district between 2007 and 2022, pleaded responsible to 137 counts of first-degree voyeurism throughout his October arraignment listening to in Clark County Superior Court docket. Friday’s hearings detailed that Mattson had been secretly recording individuals in girls’s employees restrooms at Skyview Excessive College for practically a decade and conserving photographs and pictures in a set of non-public SD playing cards and computer systems in his residence.
The 2 lawsuits, filed by attorneys with the Tacoma-based Washington Regulation Middle, allege that Vancouver Public Faculties was negligent, ought to have been conscious of Mattson’s actions and is answerable for damages that got here in consequence.
The primary case is a category motion go well with introduced on behalf of three subclasses: Vancouver Public Faculties workers, college students and visiting neighborhood members who used the locker rooms and restrooms and Alki Center College and/or Skyview Excessive College between 2013 and 2022.
The second case was filed on behalf of 64 particular victims, additionally made up of district workers, college students, relations and district guests inside that very same timeframe.
“Mattson’s direct conduct isn’t just a prison act towards society generally; it’s a private violation towards each particular person he imaged and threatened with imaging, and it make take years to disclose who all has been harmed and the way invasive the violations have been,” lead lawyer Darrell L. Cochran stated through e-mail Thursday.
Case background
In keeping with court docket data, the prison investigation started Oct. 5 after Mattson’s live-in girlfriend reported that she found a video on his pc of a woman altering garments in a locker room. On Oct. 10, the girlfriend reportedly discovered a stash of SD playing cards and thumb drives containing extra such imagery and pictures. Mattson was arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail on Oct. 13. Vancouver Public Faculties formally terminated Mattson on Oct. 25.
In his sentencing on Jan. 20, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu stated investigators had seized a number of computer systems, two cellphones, 20 thumb drives, 25 SD playing cards and 14 mini SD playing cards from Mattson’s residence in Hazel Dell. Lead Detective Justin Messman described the recordings that made up the 137 counts that got here from the preliminary assessment of the seized property as “the tip of the iceberg.”
With regard to the fits’ allegation that Vancouver Public Faculties was negligent within the scenario, attorneys pointed to an unsolved case in 2020 through which employees at Alki Center College reported discovering a toiletry equipment in a employees restroom with a digital camera inside.
“Of the restricted info we’ve got acquired through public data requests, it seems the district had some info of potential video surveillance considerations beforehand and associated to Mattson however did a poor job of investigating it or additional monitoring the priority,” Cochran stated. “The district has a duty to guard its youngsters, shield its workers and shield guests as properly from the invasive, sexually motivated exploitation brought on by this worker.”
Attorneys usually are not requesting particular damages within the lawsuits presently; Cochran stated Thursday that it’s “early within the course of” of assessing the extent of Mattson’s actions that may replicate damages.
“On behalf of everybody harmed by the covert video imaging, we are able to guarantee you that we are going to be attempting to persuade the district to enact and implement a lot stricter worker hiring and supervision practices in addition to zero-tolerance insurance policies on misconduct with video and pc units,” Cochran stated.
As a part of the case, Washington Regulation Middle has created a webpage about its case against Mattson and the district.
Vancouver Public Faculties launched a press release Thursday afternoon saying it was conscious of the 2 lawsuits.
“The district prioritizes the security and well-being of our employees and college students and takes these allegations severely,” stated district spokesperson Jessica Roberts. “The district is reviewing the allegations within the lawsuits and will likely be responding and taking applicable motion.”
The fits have been filed in Clark County Superior Court docket and have been assigned to Decide Emily Sheldrick. No date has been set for his or her hearings.
