Former Gresham-Barlow principal sentenced to prison for sexually abusing students

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A former principal with the Gresham-Barlow School District was sentenced to over 40 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing four students.

Jeffrey Hays, 68, was the principal from 2005 to 2009 at Deep Creek Elementary School. He left the elementary school in 2009 and became Executive Director at the City View Center Charter School in Hillsboro until 2018.

Victims said Hays would summon hundreds of students into his office over the school’s intercom with intention of abusing them.

In Jan. 2020, a Multnomah County jury awarded a 21-year-old woman $3 million after she said Hays had molested her for years. She said it started when she was seven at Deep Creek Elementary School.

The woman spoke with FOX 12 following the 2020 settlement, saying the abuse took place entirely inside Hay’s office, where he allegedly held personal tutoring sessions with students lasting “hours.”

Around that same time, another female student settled with the school district for $425,000.

On June 6, Hays was found guilty on six counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration.

Hays was sentenced Tuesday to 43 years and nine months in federal prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Copyright 2022 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.