Ottawa teacher charged after alleged sexual conduct with student
Alleged incidents occurred during school hours in 2013-14 school year, police say
Teacher Kyla Cowan-Wilson leaves court on $5k bond <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/pChsACL3xc">pic.twitter.com/pChsACL3xc</a>
—@idilmussaA woman is facing sexual assault-related charges after Ottawa police investigated allegations she engaged in sexual conduct with one of her male students.
Kyla Cowan-Wilson, 32, spoke with Ottawa police Tuesday morning, then was arrested and charged with:
- Sexual assault.
- Sexual interference.
- Invitation to sexual touching.
She was ordered not to talk to four people, and to stay away from parks and public pools where children are present.
She was also ordered not to be alone with males under 16 unless her husband or the teen's parents are present.
Alleged incidents happened during 2013-14 school year
Ottawa police were made aware of the case earlier this year.
The alleged incidents occurred at school and during school hours over the course of the 2013-14 school year, while Cowan-Wilson was a teacher with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, police said in a media release.
A board spokeswoman said the teacher is no longer employed by the OCDSB. The board also said the teacher was removed from the classroom in September 2014 for reasons outside of this case.
Cowan-Wilson wrote about cancer diagnosis
Cowan-Wilson blogged that she was forced to take a year off work after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
"I've lost part of me, in fact I've lost a lot of me," she wrote on her photography blog on November 27, 2015. "Somedays it feels as if I won't ever get back to the old me. I feel lost in a life I never expected to have. I think that's the hard part about thyroid cancer."
The 32-year-old went on to write about the soul searching she did. Her husband bought her a camera and she found her happy place behind the lens when she became a professional photographer, according to her blog.
Police say they're concerned there could be other victims.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Ottawa police sexual assault and child abuse unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5944, or phone Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS); toll free at 1-800-222-8477.
