Decades-old secrets surface as former North Vancouver teacher found guilty of sexual offences

WARNING: This article contains details of sexual abuse.

The victims are all middle-aged men now: urban planners, computer scientists, technology salespeople — men with jobs, titles and families of their own.

But long-ago they were all boys — Grade 6 students who had the misfortune to fall under the gaze of a popular elementary school teacher named Brian Meilicke Moore, a predator who dazzled them with ski trips, beer and "games" played in the dark that scarred them for life. 

Those decades-old secrets spilled out in North Vancouver Provincial Court this week as a judge found the now-85-year-old Moore guilty of nine historic sexual offences. 

'Hard for those guys to hear'

Moore worked at Upper Lynn Valley elementary school from 1976 until his resignation in February 1982. 

Judge Robert Hamilton called the evidence of the complainants and witnesses "extensive," acknowledging the length and detail of his 66-page decision.

He also noted one recurring theme that "amounted to some evidence of grooming" — Moore's insistence the boys "be naked during certain activities," ranging from communal showers after swimming, to water-skiing off the back of his boat and climbing into sleeping bags at night.

Eight of the counts were for indecent assaults dating between 1976 and 1982, under the old wording of a section of the Criminal Code that has since been updated. The ninth — a conviction of touching for a sexual purpose — happened between 2005 and 2007.

Dennis Cooper — one of two victims who argued to lift publication bans on their names — told CBC News Friday the verdict was "bittersweet." He said 12 men accused Moore of molesting them and the judge delivered not guilty verdicts on three of the charges.

"That would be really hard for those guys to hear that," he said.

"The judge made a decision on those three based on an inconsistency of evidence between what was reported to police and what was testified in court. But that inconsistency doesn't mean that it didn't happen. We all believe you."

'Ashamed and humiliated'

Cooper has proved a galvanizing force among the victims, bringing a proposed class-action lawsuit against Moore on behalf of dozens of alleged victims. 

The judge noted that Moore's lawyer asked most of the witnesses about the case, and whether they had spoken to other complainants as Moore — who didn't testify — implied collusion between victims.

But the judge found the allegation "unfounded."

"Nearly all of the complainants said clearly in their evidence that they have not discussed the allegations in this case with anyone other than their spouses or partners, and only when the allegations against Mr. Moore became public," Hamilton said.

"There is no evidentiary basis to conclude that the complainants and witnesses have manufactured their evidence to align with the evidence of others."

Instead, victim after victim recounted trips taken to the Okanagan with Moore and other boys where the teacher reached in to touch them in their sleeping bags at night.

One recalled playing a game with the others in the showers after using the pool at Simon Fraser University: "The boys were naked in the shower as was Mr. Moore."

And Cooper said Moore demonstrated masturbation to him and two others.

"Dennis Cooper recalls that the masturbation demonstration was more funny than serious although he says it was a bit shocking," Hamilton wrote.

"Dennis Cooper says that all three boys participated by masturbating. He says that Mr. Moore told all of the boys to sleep naked and that Dennis Cooper never wore pyjamas to bed on the ski trips."

One of the victims said he felt "ashamed and humiliated" by what happened to him.

'It's proof that he never stopped'

Moore's reign at the school came to an end after some of the boys told a parent, who went to the school's principal.

The former principal — now 93 — testified that he confronted Moore alongside a school board official following a complaint from a parent and watched as he "packed up his belongings, left the school and provided a resignation letter the same day."

"He says that while this meeting with Mr. Moore happened 42 years ago, the passage of time has not affected his memory of the reason for meeting with Mr. Moore," Hamilton wrote.

Twenty years after quitting as a teacher, Moore owned an antique finishing business. That's how he met and befriended the mother of two young boys.

Moore offered to babysit them at his home.

One of the boys — I.S. — who is now 25, was the youngest victim to testify.

"The boys did not have pyjamas with them so Mr. Moore gave I.S. a pair of boxer shorts and told I.S. to take off his underwear and sleep in the shorts," Hamilton wrote, noting that I.S. was seven or eight at the time. 

"I.S. said while he was lying on the cot, Mr. Moore reached his hands under the covers and under the boxer shorts."

According to the decision, the RCMP investigated Moore in 1988, but charges didn't come about until after Cooper began speaking publicly about his experiences in 2022.

Cooper says the gap in time between offences is notable.

"It's proof that he never stopped," he said.

"There is a high likelihood of there being many more victims out there."

A judge has yet to decide on the fate of the class-action lawsuit.

Moore has denied the allegations made in the civil litigation and argued that the school district and the parents of the boys should be held liable for any damage the boys suffered at events sanctioned by their guardians and school officials.

If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​