The late Wayne Richards, who was 53 when he died in 2003, is one of three former teachers who are the subject of civil action in the District Court by three former students over historic allegations of sexual abuse.

The women claim they were sexually exploited while under the authority, control and trust of a group of teachers at the school who groomed them and participated regularly in inappropriate and sexual relations with students in their care.

They are also suing the State of NSW for breaching its duty of care. The Port News was told a complaint was made to the Department of Education in 1980 by two parents about the alleged behaviour.

There are no criminal proceedings being pursued.

The women are being represented by Scott Mackenzie Lawyers who have hired high profile Sydney barristers Mr David Hooke SC and Mr Dean Woodbury.

When contacted, solicitor Ms Mandy Mackenzie from Scott Mackenzie Lawyers said: "We are currently in the process of preparing to file further Statements of Claim against the State of New South Wales and also former teachers of Port Macquarie High School."

The latest two statements of claim were lodged in the Coffs Harbour District Court on April 21.

The three women said the abuse has had a devastating impact on their lives and has been the trigger for depressive illness through to suicide attempts.

Mr Richards was a past president of the Teachers Federation in Port Macquarie, a founding member of the hospital action group and a long-standing teacher at Port Macquarie High School.

He was elected to Hastings Council in 1995 and became mayor in 1998.

A community sporting fund and sports fields were later named in his honour.

One woman has alleged in 1980, a group of 20 students were invited to an apartment where they were provided with alcohol by teachers in attendance.

She alleges Mr Richards, who was an English teacher at the time, took her to his bedroom where he performed a sex act on her, then pressured her to reciprocate.

Four weeks later, she alleges a second incident occurred after they had been at a pub in Long Flat. Mr Richards allegedly supplied her with enough alcoholic drinks to make her drunk, took her home and engaged in sex.

Another woman has filed a case against another former teacher the Port News chooses not to name. That former teacher has not yet lodged a defence to the court.

The Port News did contact him for comment.

The woman taking action against him was a student at Port High between 1976 and 1981.

The alleged sexual abuse began when she was 17 and involved a lengthy period of grooming by the teacher.

It is alleged the woman was provided with alcohol at the teacher's home, and that he engaged in sex with her while she was intoxicated.

A third claim has been lodged against former teacher Brian Sams.

Mr Sams was employed as a teacher and careers advisor between 1976 and 1994.

Mr Sams filed a defence, denying the allegations made against him.

The State of NSW subsequently filed a cross claim on April 16, 2020 against Mr Sams, but he has since passed away.

The State of NSW is being represented by Wendy Blacker Lawyers.

The woman, who lodged her claim in 2019, said she was targeted and groomed by Mr Sams who made friends with her family and later gave her keys to his flat in Port Macquarie.

"Other teachers were aware of this occurring but did nothing to stop it or intervene, it was like they were working in a pack and covered up for each other," she told the Port News last year.

"I felt so ashamed and humiliated but I believed somehow that I was to blame and responsible for his actions.

"I finally got the guts to say 'no more' and then watched with dismay when he began making identical moves on a younger girl at school.

"Unable to resettle at school and feeling dirty, humiliated and profoundly sad and depressed I continued wagging all my classes.

"The immediate damage to me as a teen from grooming and sexual assault by a teacher was complete and overwhelming loneliness, isolation and self-hatred."

She said the alleged abuse mapped out her whole life.

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