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DHS opens investigation into North Salem teacher accused of inappropriate touching
The Oregon Department of Human Services is investigating a North Salem High School teacher and former basketball coach following a student walkout last week where students said the coach had touched them inappropriately.
The department received three prior reports about Trever Ball, spokesman Jake Sunderland said, but did not previously open an investigation because the reports “did not include enough detail or information to meet the criteria that defines abuse” under state law.
Ball teaches health sciences and coached the Vikings varsity girls basketball team until the Salem-Keizer School District placed him on leave in December 2021. He returned as a teacher in March 2022.
Two basketball players told Salem Reporter last week that Ball regularly touched players inappropriately and commented on their appearance. They said the school investigated following their complaints in December 2021, and Ball stopped coaching basketball, but remained a teacher at the school.
Ball did not respond to a voicemail and email from Salem Reporter Wednesday seeking comment on the allegations or the new DHS investigation.
Sunderland said Wednesday the department opened an investigation because of details included in a Salem Reporter article published last week about the student walkout.
“The information and detail included … was enough to determine that the concerns related to this individual met the criteria that defines abuse,” Suderland said in an email.
He said previous reports to DHS about Ball on Dec. 10, 2021; May 30, 2023 and June 2, 2023, did not include enough information to establish that the allegations met the state criteria for abuse. Sunderland declined to say the positions of those who made prior reports, citing privacy laws.
Hundreds of high school students walked out of classes June 2 in a protest organized by seniors on the Vikings varsity girls basketball team.
The district’s human resources office placed Ball on leave again June 1 after senior Natalya Mendoza posted on Instagram detailing her experiences with Ball. Mendoza and other players on the team said they felt an obligation to protect younger students from Ball and were concerned the school would attempt to bring him back as a coach after they graduate.
District officials said they could not comment on the specific allegations against Ball or the outcome of the 2021 investigation, and did not respond to a question about whether he was asked to step down as coach following that investigation.
Ball remained on paid leave as of Wednesday, district spokesman Aaron Harada said.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
