Teacher in B.C. Interior suspended after telling girls he 'was not a pedophile': regulator

The B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation has suspended a teacher in the province's Interior after he reportedly told Grade 11 girls in fitness class that he was "not a pedophile" and touched some of them, making them uncomfortable.

Todd Erin Graham consented to a one-day suspension of his teaching certificate and to attend a respectful boundaries course, as part of discipline relating to events in the 2022-23 school year.

In a consent agreement posted online on Tuesday, the regulator found Graham was teaching a fitness and conditioning class to Grade 11 students between September and December 2022 when he separated the girls from the boys.

"In that meeting, Graham told the girls that he was 'not a pedophile' but that he might have to 'grab them' to show them proper form or to spot them," the consent agreement reads.

"Graham then told them that he had no attraction to them as he was 52 and they were 15."

The female students reportedly felt uncomfortable after the meeting, with Graham also saying he would periodically touch students to help them with their form or work muscle groups.

Those included occasions when he touched the side of a female student's chest while she was performing a bench press and asked, "Can you feel that?"

Graham was also found to have pushed a student's hips while she used a squat rack, and complimented another student's legs while she used a leg press machine.

Demeaning comments

The regulator also found he made demeaning comments to both an Indigenous student and a student with diverse needs, while singling them out in front of their classmates in the 2022-23 school year.

Following those events, the school district gave him a letter of discipline and ordered him to attend two online courses regarding Indigenous cultural safety and reconciliation.

The commissioner's consent agreement says Graham agreed his actions constituted professional misconduct and agreed to his one-day suspension.

"Graham failed to create a positive learning environment or to model appropriate behaviour," the agreement reads.

"Graham failed to respect appropriate boundaries, making students feel uncomfortable."