Stanislas College is still in trouble. Following the publicized arrest of a teacher last March for sex crimes against several students, La Presse has learned that another teacher at the Outremont private school has been the target of fresh allegations of a sexual nature. According to our information, however, the college downplayed the situation after an initial complaint.
Posted 1:27pm Updated 5:00am
Two independent sources have confirmed to us that the teacher targeted by the police investigation is suspected of having committed sexual acts against two high school students and a staff member in 2022 and 2023. The alleged acts, which spanned several months, are touching and unsolicited kisses. In addition, the teacher would have insisted on reaching meetings outside of the classroom.
We have agreed to grant these two sources anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media and could face professional repercussions.
Reached by La Presse, the teacher confirmed that he was being investigated for sexual misconduct. “I’m 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 is not yet the subject of a criminal complaint.
He claims to be completely in the dark about the exact nature of the allegations. “I am surprised and shocked. I’ve been in college for 32 years and I’ve never had a situation like this. He says he was not contacted by the police. “This is an internal investigation being conducted by the College. »
In the matter, he denies having committed any sexual act. ” Never ! he exclaimed. “It’s completely crazy! »
The teacher is no longer part of the staff list on the website of the college, a French institution that accepts students aged 4 to 18 in the heart of Outremont.
“It’s cultural”
Two different sources who are in direct contact with the file told La Presse that the college’s leadership has been trying to sweep these allegations under the rug over the past year. In the first complaints in 2022, management even downplayed certain gestures made by the teacher, even going so far as to say it was “cultural.” Another criminal complaint against the same teacher was subsequently filed in 2023.
Since then, “there has been a grind in the works of the school’s cooperation,” says a source who is “outraged” by the school management’s stance on the file.
In a sibylline email response, the college does not confirm any information on the matter, but assures that “any staff member who is subject to such allegations is subject to safeguards to allow the relevant authorities to carry out the investigative work that s ‘impose’.” The college refused us an interview.
This alleged case joins two others that have made headlines at Collège Stanislas in recent years. In 2019, a physical education teacher, Denis Tiffou, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for possession of child pornography. He had 28,000 pictures 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.
PHOTO FROM ALEXANDRE GAGNÉ’S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
Alexandre Gagne
“An Open Secret”
An “open secret”. This is the phrase used by a teacher in an explosive email to her students that circulated quite a bit around 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 reported without hesitation to management and/or Neighborhood Station 26 in Outremont.”
“It’s a shockwave of incredible violence that swept through the establishment and tested everyone’s psychological balance, I think, a balance that has already been tested by an improbable series of dramas since the comeback. But predators are despicable,” she wrote. “Beware of wolves leaving it and taking refuge… in schools! ‘ she concludes.
Reached by phone, this teacher first admitted to being the author of the email, before retracting it a few hours later after discussions with her lawyer. “I feel like I did what I had to do, I was able to do it. “Yes, go to management”. We were asked to collect the children’s words, I collected them,” she initially explained to La Presse.
However, the teacher affected by the allegations confirms that such an email was sent. “I know that a colleague asked for student references and that my name was mentioned. Along with the other two defendants. She connected me to these people. »
The college emailed that it gave “students increased attention” and offered “hearing booths” after the “events” without specifying the type. “We also reminded the students of the communication channels available to them to make reports if necessary,” commented Sophie Alice T. Marchand, Director of Communications at Collège Stanislas.
“Given the sensitive nature of the above elements, and out of respect for legal or internal procedures, you will understand that neither the College nor representatives of its agencies can comment further or disclose confidential information about employees who may have been targeted. through these measures, ”continued the spokesman for the college.
The college claims to have launched an independent investigation to “strengthen” the Violence and Bullying Prevention Plan. This survey is conducted by the College Board of Directors with the help of an outside firm.
The union representing teachers at the college did not respond to La Presse’s email. The president of the college workers’ union, reached by phone, declined to comment on the filing after receiving an “order” from management on the matter. The college parents’ association did not respond to our messages.
Instances of sexual misconduct in schools have piled up in recent months, to the point where Education Secretary Bernard Drainville launched a “general inquiry” last March to shed light on “multiple denunciations and allegations of misconduct of a sexual nature or… “ to bring inappropriate behavior” in the school network.
Faced with this multiplication of cases of aggression, opposition parties on Sunday called for the passage of a framework law to combat sexual violence in schools, which would oblige all establishments to have a complaints management policy in this area.