Shadbreon Gatson, the Vancouver high-school teacher accused by a former student of sexually abusing her in 2013, resigned on Tuesday.

Gatson, 43, who worked at Hudson’s Bay High School, has been on administrative leave since he was arrested on Dec. 20 on allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor.

The initial case ultimately was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired, Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Kim Kapp said in an email. The former student reported the alleged abuse to the school last year.

Vancouver Public Schools said in an email that other people reportedly have come forward with allegations against or information about Gatson, and Kapp said police are continuing to investigate.

Vancouver Public Schools expressed apparent relief at Gatson’s decision to resign.

“We do not wish to continue paying public funds for administrative leave any longer than legally necessary,” the district said in a Jan. 14 email to staff and parents. “Because it allows us to take action now – rather than waiting for the outcome of an investigation and then taking any necessary action – we plan to accept the resignation.”

The district said it’s continuing its third-party investigation into the school’s “procedures and practices regarding reports of this nature.”

A janitor reported seeing Gatson alone in a dark room with a female student in 2013. At the time, the teacher received a letter of admonishment from Bill Oman, then the principal of Hudson’s Bay, for “poor judgement and boundaries,” school records state.

In an interview with Oman in 2013, Gatson denied any wrongdoing, and Oman later wrote in an email to the district’s human-resources director that he did “not feel like anything happened, but there were some definite blurred boundaries and very poor judgement by Shad.”

Oman, now the school district’s executive director of schools and learning, and Valerie Seeley, Hudson’s Bay’s current principal, are on voluntary administrative leave.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.