ST. HELENS, Ore. (KPTV) - A former St. Helens teacher accused of sexual abuse will remain in jail, a judge ruled Monday.

During a bail hearing, a Columbia County judge ruled that Eric Stearns is a danger to the community and will remain in jail.

“The question is whether or not the defendant poses a danger. He is a danger to this community. I am going to be holding him under preventative detention statute,” the judge said.

Stearns, 47, was a high school choir teacher and coach in St. Helens who was arrested in Nov. 2024 and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse against students.

At the beginning of the year, the county added 10 new charges , five of them felonies including first-degree sexual abuse which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six years.

The school district fired him earlier this month.

Stearns defense attorney has successful argued to have two different judges removed from the case while her client has remained behind bars.

Monday’s hearing began at 9 a.m.

Prosecution announced there are four additional alleged victims, bringing the total number of victims to 19. Prosecutors believe there are more victims out there.

There is now a male victim, according to a new indictment filed Sunday. According to the indictment, “the defendant specifically said to him, ‘Don’t tell or else people with think you’re gay.‘”

Victim impact statements were read during the bail hearing.

“I fear for the safety of not only myself and the other victims if he were released. I have concerns that he may try to intimidate other victims and try to prevent them from coming forward,” one statement read.

Attorney Amber Kinney, who represents seven of the victims, read a letter from one of her clients, which said in part, “I came to the conclusion that I was being groomed by my choir teacher. I have suffered from nightmares for the last five years. This is not just a nightmare, this is real life. He is destroying lives of innocent people. He is not a good person, no one is safe around Eric Stearns.”

During victim statements, Stearns was seen occasionally shaking his head and taking notes.

The defense attorney argued that there is no need to hypothesize about the danger to society. Stearns had previously been released on bond after the first indictment was filed against him in Nov. 2024. He was only ordered to stay in custody after a superseding or a new indictment was filed this year.

There are now 29 total charges against Stearns, who plead not guilty Monday.

Since this is a complex case, Stearns' defense attorney said it could easily be early 2026 before they are ready for a trial.

This case has shocked the tight-knit community of St. Helens.

It all started with a TikTok post by Doug Weaver, a former St. Helens High School student, who now lives on the East Coast.

“I’ve made a series of videos of what’s going on here, and I’ve had a lot of current and former students and community members and school staff, former school employees, people reaching out to me and talking to me about things that are happening in this district,” Weaver said.

Weaver ended up sending a tip to the SafeOregon website on Sept. 19.

Two months later, Stearns and former teacher Mark Collins were each arrested and charged with sexual abuse. Then the principal, Kathryn Wagner, was arrested and charged with failure to report abuse.

The school board chair resigned and the superintendent Scott Stockwell was placed on paid administrative leave .

“I understand that people are angry and that trust has been broken between the community, between families, and the school system. We have significant work to do to repair relationships, to rebuild, and to repair the confidence the public should have in its public schools,” said Steve Webb, acting superintendent for the school district.