PERRY, Okla. (AP) — A settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit accusing an Oklahoma school district of shielding a sexual predator and calling children liars.

Court documents show Perry Public Schools admitted liability for the "unwanted and unlawful touching" of 14 girls by a former teacher's aide and agreed to pay the families $3.5 million to settle the case.

Arrest affidavits note the Perry Upper Elementary School students detailed how 87-year-old Arnold Cowen fondled them and touched their breasts in 2016 and 2017, sometimes during "lengthy hugs and inappropriate touches."

Cowen wa...