Stanislas College is still in trouble. After the publicized arrest of a teacher last March for sex crimes targeting several students, La Presse has learned that another teacher at the private school in Outremont is the target of new allegations of a sexual nature. However, according to our information, the College trivialized the situation after a first complaint.
Two independent sources have confirmed to us that the teacher targeted by the police investigation is suspected of having committed acts of a sexual nature against two high school students and a co-worker in 2022 and 2023. The alleged acts, which were spread over several months, are touching and unsolicited kisses. In addition, the teacher would have been insistent on obtaining meetings outside the classroom.
We have agreed to grant anonymity to these two sources, as they are not authorized to speak to the media and could face professional consequences.
Reached by La Presse, the teacher confirmed that he was under investigation for sexual misconduct. “I am being asked to stay home pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct,” he said.
La Presse chose not to name the man, as he does not yet face any criminal charges.
He claims to be completely in the dark as to the exact nature of the allegations. “I am surprised and shocked. I have been in college for 32 years and I have never faced such a situation. He says he was not contacted by the police. “This is an internal investigation, conducted by the College. »
On the merits, he denies having committed any act of a sexual nature whatsoever. ” Never ! he exclaimed. “That’s completely wacky!” »
The teacher is no longer on the staff list on the website of the College, a French school that welcomes students aged 4 to 18 in the heart of Outremont.
Two different sources, who are in direct contact with the case, told La Presse that the College’s management tried to sweep these allegations under the rug last year. During the first complaints, in 2022, the management even trivialized certain gestures committed by the teacher, even going so far as to say that it was “cultural”. Another criminal complaint against this same teacher was subsequently filed in 2023.
In a cryptic email response, the College does not confirm any information on this case, but says that “any staff member subject to such allegations is placed under protective measures to allow the competent authorities to carry out the investigative work which is ‘impose’. The College refused to grant us an interview.
This alleged case is in addition to two others that have made headlines in recent years at Collège Stanislas. In 2019, a physical education teacher, Denis Tiffou, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for possession of child pornography. He had 28,000 images and 2,800 videos of child pornography in his home.
Then, last March, economics teacher Alexandre Gagné was accused of sexually exploiting a student and killing five other victims between 2019 and 2022. He faces numerous charges.
An “open secret”. This is the expression used by a teacher in an explosive email sent to her students and which has circulated quite a bit in the school. In this email obtained by La Presse, the teacher names her colleague who is the subject of an investigation and writes that his actions “must be denounced without any hesitation to the management and / or to the station of district 26 in Outremont “.
“It’s a shock wave of incredible violence that fell on the establishment, testing the psychic balance of everyone I think, a balance already well tested by an improbable succession of dramas since the comeback. But predation is despicable,” she wrote. “Beware of the wolves who leave it and find refuge… in the schools!” “, she concludes.
Reached by phone, this teacher first admitted to being the author of the email, before retracting a few hours later after discussions with her lawyer. “I feel like I did what I had to do, I was in a position to do it. ‟Yes, go see the management”. We were asked to collect the words of the children, I collected them, ”she first explained to La Presse.
The teacher targeted by the allegations, however, confirms the sending of such an email. “I know a colleague solicited testimonials from students and my name came up. Alongside the other two who have been charged. She associated me with these people. »
The College indicates by email that it has paid “increased attention to students” and has offered “listening cells” following the “events”, without specifying the nature of these. “We also reminded students of the communication channels available to them to make any reports, if necessary,” commented Sophie Alice T. Marchand, Director of Communications at Collège Stanislas.
“Given the sensitive nature of the aforementioned elements, and out of respect for legal or internal processes, you will understand that neither the College nor the representatives of its bodies can comment further or disclose confidential information on any staff member who may have been targeted. by these measures,” continues the College spokesperson.
The College says it launched an independent investigation to “strengthen” the violence and bullying prevention plan. This survey is led by the Board of Directors of the College with the help of an external firm.
The union that represents teachers at the College did not respond to La Presse’s email. Reached by phone, the president of the College employees’ union declined to comment on the case, having received an “order” from management to this effect. The Parents’ Association of the College did not respond to our messages.
Cases of sexual misconduct in schools have been piling up in recent months, to the point where the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, launched a “general inquiry” last March to shed light on the “multiple denunciations and allegations of misconduct of a sexual nature or inappropriate behavior” in the school system.
On Sunday, faced with this multiplication of cases of aggression, the opposition parties called for the adoption of a framework law to combat sexual violence in schools, which would oblige all establishments to have a complaints management policy in this area.
