Two male high school teachers were arrested for alleged sexual abuse, and the school’s principal and superintendent were placed on administrative leave because of the school’s handling of the investigation, according to St. Helens School District press release.

Eric Stearns and Mark Collins were both arrested on Tuesday, November 12 for alleged sexual assault. The school board placed Principal Dr. Katy Wagner and Superintendent Scot Stockwell on administrative leave on Thursday, November 14 and Friday, November 15, respectively.

Stearns, 46, is currently a driving instructor at St. Helens High School, and Collins, 64, previously worked as a math teacher there before retiring. Their arrests come after St. Helens Police Chief Joseph Hogue investigated Stearns for two months.

Hogue received a tip about a TikTok video alluding to Stearns’ inappropriate behavior. Authorities then interviewed those involved in or commented on the video. During the investigation, Collins’ name was brought up.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Stearns pleaded not guilty to the seven charges that he sexually abused six different students from 2015 to January 2024, according to court documents, KATU 2 reports. Stearns qualified for bail, which was set at $150,000.

The next day, Collins, who was accused of inappropriately touching minors at school between 2017 and 2023, was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of attempted second-degree sexual assault. Collins was released on the condition that he not have contact with minors or where minors congregate. Collins also cannot contact the minors involved in the case.

After their arrests, Chief Hogue said, “A lot of the information that (police) got from the victims in this case was that the victims had reported some of this information to the school district, and in many cases they found that there were records of that.”

Several students and parents said the school knew about the investigation for months, but Stearns was still allowed to teach. After the first arrests, the school board held a meeting on November 13 and several people protested against the board.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the school board acknowledged they were aware Stearns was under police investigation. According to KGW8the school board and school officials ignored student and parent allegations over the years.

On Thursday, the school released a statement confirming that class would be canceled Thursday and Friday. Both days students and parents protested against the school.

“If somebody reports this, it’s made to feel like it’s not a big deal, like (they) just want it to go away,” said Brandon Hogan, a parent who is considering removing his children from the district, according to KGW8.

“The school didn’t really do anything,” sophomore Lucy Durant said, per KGW8.

On Friday afternoon, the district announced that Wagner had been placed on paid administrative leave. The announcement confirmed that Ryan Scholl stepped down from his role as Chairman of the Board, and that Trinity Monahan will become Vice Chairman.

On Friday night, the board held an additional virtual meeting and voted to also place Superintendent Stockwell on paid administrative leave.

“We have heard the concerns that have been raised and are committed to transparency and working to foster a safe, supportive environment for all students,” the district’s communications director, Stacey Mendoza, said in a statement to PEOPLE on Friday.

A representative of St. Helen’s Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Friday.

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