BC principal banned from teaching after he tried to meet a "teen" from Grindr
A former principal in BC has been banned from teaching after he sent explicit text messages and arranged to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old boy.
Mark Louis Pierotti, a private school principal, was named in a decision from the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, which states he violated the Teachers Act.
The decision was posted online this week and states that the private school principal admitted he used the Grindr dating app to communicate with a person who identified themselves as a child.
The decision reads that he initially contacted a young man on the app who listed his age as 21.
” Pierotti started this communication with the Youth by sending the message ‘Hello there sexy’ and invited the Youth to come over for a drink,” the decision reads. “The Youth replied that he was 15. Pierotti asked if the Youth were ‘for real.'”
Pierotti continued to message the account and say he “can’t connect [with] a 15-year-old” and sent several messages admitting the person was “too young and it’s not legal.”
He eventually made plans to meet the teen and sent inappropriate messages as well.
However, the “teen” was a fake account made by an adult man in order to “catch” sexual predators and when Picrotti arrived in his vehicle a man approached him.
Picrotti drove away when the man who was filming him on his phone headed towards his vehicle.
This video was posted on Facebook along with messages Picrotti sent.
On August 27, 2022, the school Pierotti worked at terminated his employment.
” Pierotti’s conduct undermines the public’s confidence in the education system,” the commissioner wrote.
According to the decision, Pierotti admitted to how the incident unfolded.
“Pierotti agrees that for a period of 15 years, he will not apply for, and understands the Director of Certification (the “Director”) will be required not to issue to him, a certificate of qualification, an independent school teaching certificate or any other authorization to teach in the kindergarten to grade 12 education system under section 64(g) of the Teachers Act, or any successor legislation,” the decision added.
He was not criminally charged and these allegations have not been proven in court.