Weyburn Catholic school division employee accused of sex crimes against minor

Man is charged with sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference. He will appear in court February 28.

Weyburn police began an investigation into social media communications between a man employed by a local school division and a student, resulting in sex charges.Photo by BRANDON HARDER /Regina Leader-Post

An employee of the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division in Weyburn has been charged with sexual offences against a minor after an investigation into “inappropriate communications” over social media.

The man is charged with sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference and will appear in Weyburn Provincial Court on Feb. 28, according to Weyburn Police Service (WPS) Deputy Chief Brent VanDeSype.

“I can tell you that the victim is a student within that same school division and that she is a teenage female,” VanDeSype said on Thursday, adding that there is a “significant age difference” between the accused and the victim.

According to a weekly summary by the WPS covering Jan. 2 through Jan. 9, the incident was announced and police asked parents to monitor their children’s social media communications to ensure they’re appropriate.

The man’s age and name are not being released at this time. Given the size of Weyburn and that his employer has been made public already, VanDeSype said divulging his age would essentially identify him and possibly the victim.

In a phone call, VanDeSype said the parents of the victim approached police during the early hours of Jan. 4 where they voiced their concerns about social media messages between their daughter and the accused. An investigation was started and the man was arrested with charges laid the next day, Jan. 5. He was released on “numerous conditions.”

The Leader-Post contacted the school division on Thursday about whether the employee was a teacher or other staff, what actions the school had taken (such as a suspension) and when the school division became aware of the charges.

Gwen Keith, director of education for the school division, said they became aware of the charges on Jan. 5.

“It is definitely an employee of Holy Family but in protection of the people involved, particularly the student, I am really not prepared to give clarity or further details on those other two questions you’re asking,” Keith said.

“The utmost safety of our students is clearly the most important piece for us. All students are safe, relative to the matter, and don’t have any access to this employee,” Keith added.