Salem-Keizer teacher pleads guilty to sexually assaulting former students

A Salem-Keizer teacher arrested in June 2017 on suspicion of sexually abusing a former student has pleaded guilty to nine child sexual abuse charges and is awaiting sentencing. 

Shane Ross, 40, of Turner, was initially accused of sexually assaulting one student over a six-year period, from 2009 to 2015, according to court records.

A month after his arrest, Ross faced additional charges of sexually abusing a second girl under the age of 14.

In his guilty plea filing, Ross admitted to repeatedly forcing two girls under 14 years old to touch his penis and repeatedly touching the girls' genitals.

Ross allegedly abused the second girl during his earlier years employed at Salem-Keizer Public Schools, according to court records. The abuse spanned from 2001 to 2005. Ross was her coach during a portion of that time. 

Around September 1, 2009, Ross is accused of forcing a girl under the age of 14 to touch his genitals and forcibly touched the girl's genitals, breasts and intimate areas. 

He is believed to have repeatedly sexually abused the girl spanning the six-year period. Ross was the girl's physical education teacher for a portion of that time.  

More:Yamhill County woman arrested for shipping meth, heroin

More crime:Salem pastor resigns after church investigates claims of sexual misconduct by him, 3 others

More:Marion County Judge Vance Day appears in pretrial hearing for criminal gun charges

The conduct occurred when Ross was a physical education and computer education teacher at Parrish Middle School in 2009,  a PE teacher at Schirle Elementary School and Rosedale Elementary School in 2011 and 2012, and while he was a PE teacher at Englewood Elementary School in 2012 through 2015.

Ross taught at five Salem-Keizer Public Schools for more than 17 years, starting at Houck Middle School as a physical education teacher in 2000. He left in 2001.

A few weeks into the 2001 school year, Ross allegedly began giving the second girl attention. After months of grooming, he allegedly kissed her in the equipment room of the school gymnasium, according to a tort claims notice filed in August 2017 against Salem-Keizer Public Schools. 

He taught physical education and computer education at Parrish until 2011, when he transferred to teach PE at Schirle Elementary School and Rosedale Elementary School at the same time. He divided his time teaching at both schools until 2012. 

In 2012, he transferred to Englewood Elementary School and taught PE until being placed on leave in March of last year. 

He was placed on paid administrative leave on March 6, 2017.

Ross pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, four counts of second-degree sexual abuse and second-degree unlawful sexual penetration.

First-degree sexual abuse and second-degree unlawful sexual penetration are Measure 11 offenses that carry mandatory minimum sentences of 75 months in prison.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, April 6 at 1:30 p.m. with Judge Courtland Geyer.

A pair of attorneys with the Gatti Law Firm in Salem filed the tort claim and told the Statesman Journal in August that they would wait to file a civil lawsuit against the school district until after Ross' criminal case was resolved.

Email Lauren Hernandez at lehernande@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6743 or follow on Twitter @LaurenPorFavor