Vancouver teacher under investigation for alleged sexual assault of student
This story contains information that may be disturbing to some readers.
A Vancouver teacher is under investigation for the alleged sexual assault of a student.
Kyle Ledingham has been accused of assault by a student during his time as a band teacher at Prince of Wales Secondary School.
Ledingham was also a golf instructor at Musqueam Golf and Learning Academy. His name has since been removed from the academy’s website.
The student, whom Daily Hive has chosen not to identify, has taken to social media to share her story.
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It is alleged that during April and May of 2019, when the student was in Grade 11, Ledingham forced himself onto the student multiple times while she was doing community service work in his classroom for credits at Prince of Whales Secondary.
The student says she reported the incident to the police over the phone on September 18, 2019, and then gave a statement at the police station on the next day.
The student alleges she was assaulted on four different occasions, and one conversation between the two was allegedly captured via a phone recording, also shared to her social media account.
“You tried to go under my pants several times,” the student says in the recording.
“Well, I thought you wanted me to,” the man says.
“What gave that? Why did you think that?” responds the student.
“Well, I won’t,” he says.
“You tried to take off my pants once — no, twice. No, you unbuttoned it, you unzipped it,” the student says.
“Okay, well, I’m really sorry about it,” he says.
VPD says they are still awaiting the Crown to approve charges.
“Vancouver Police have presented a report to Crown for their approval. Unfortunately for privacy reasons I am unable to comment on this investigation,” said Sgt. Aaron Roed, VPD, in a statement to Daily Hive.
“Student safety and well-being will remain a priority for the Vancouver Police. With this matter before the courts we need to keep our focus on the students so their learning continues and their well-being is safe guarded.”
The student says the package was sent to Crown Counsel on December 11, 2019.
According to the Vancouver School Board, there were “no known concerns” about the teacher when he was hired.
“As soon as the District learns if any allegation or concern, immediate steps are taken to look into it and work with our partners (like the VPD) to ensure students’ safety and well-being, which is always the number one priority,” said a VSB spokesperson.
“When District staff learned of an arrest of an individual, District staff immediately informed the Teacher Regulation Branch. District and school-based staff were not advised ahead of time about investigations. There were no known concerns about the individual. The District has rigorous processes in place when hiring teachers and other staff, including a criminal record check.”
Ledingham’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
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