Police say a West Kent parent believed a 2023 school touching incident had been reported to them. It hadn't.
Charlottetown police say a parent reached out to them 14 months after the allegations
WARNING: This story contains disturbing descriptions of child sex abuse. Resources and supports for anyone who has experienced sexual violence can be found at the bottom of this story.
Investigators with Charlottetown Police Services say they didn't learn about an alleged 2023 touching incident involving Matthew Craswell at West Kent Elementary School until one of the girls' parents brought it to them 14 months later.
Det.-Sgt. Darren MacDougall told CBC News in an email that a parent came to Charlottetown police in August 2024 "inquiring about the status of an investigation involving her daughter of inappropriate touching by a teacher at her school."
MacDougall's email continued: "The parent reported the incident to the school in June 2023 and assumed the school engaged police. However, police were not informed of the incident."
Last month, Craswell pleaded guilty to sexually touching a student at Glen Stewart Primary School in Stratford in April 2024 while he was a substitute teacher, as well as three unrelated child pornography offences.
Through court proceedings and the aftermath of details being made public, more has been revealed about another alleged incident at West Kent Elementary School in June 2023.
Craswell was not charged in relation to those allegations, so the issue has not been tested in court, unlike the Glen Stewart incident involving Craswell.
However, court documents show the P.E.I. substitute teacher had "boasted of his misconduct with other children" throughout thousands of pages of online chats accessed by RCMP after Craswell's devices were seized.
"During one conversation, [Craswell] alludes to sexually touching three other girls while teaching them," said the court documents, presented at the time of his guilty pleas.
No interviews, no charges
Little is known about the 2023 events or specific allegations, or what would have led the West Kent parent to believe the school would have involved police.
But documents have shown the P.E.I. substitute teacher "boasted of his misconduct with other children" throughout thousands of pages of online chats accessed by RCMP after seizing Craswell's devices.
"During one conversation, [Craswell] alludes to sexually touching three other girls while teaching them," said the court documents presented at the time of his guilty pleas.
Last fall, Charlottetown Police circled back with the three girls' parents after learning more about that 2023 incident from Craswell's online activity. The parents all ultimately decided not to allow their children to participate in police interviews.
"The willingness of the victim(s) to provide a statement and engage the criminal justice system is required to proceed with an investigation and/or charges," MacDougall wrote.
Teaching licence has been revoked
CBC News reached out to the Public Schools Branch for comment on Monday, but did not receive a response by deadline.
However, the P.E.I. Department of Education and Early Years sent a statement on Monday that suggested Craswell is unlikely to ever teach again.
"The individual's teaching licence has been revoked. All Canadian registrars and Island schools, including CSLF [the French-language school board on P.E.I.], PSB, private schools and John J. Sark Memorial School [on Lennox Island First Nation] will be notified once the decision has been finalized," it said.
"Given the nature of this individual's offences, he would not be successful in an appeal of their licence, pass future vulnerable sector checks and will not be eligible to hold a teaching licence in the future."
Finding of 'no malicious intent' on Craswell's part
The Public Schools Branch has said both the 2023 and 2024 incidents involving Craswell were reported to the respective schools and investigated internally.
The PSB has not confirmed the 2023 incident was at West Kent, but the Education Minister revealed that detail in the legislature on Friday.
In both cases, the PSB has said Craswell touched the female students on the girls' stomachs or arms during classroom games.
Police and Child Protection Services were not notified at the time of either allegation. The branch said this is because there was no evidence at that time to suggest Craswell had malicious or criminal intent.
In an interview last week, CBC News asked director Tracy Beaulieu who had determined that police and child protection officials did not need to be involved.
"Those decisions would have been made based on the statement of facts at the time about whether there was an intent and harm directed at students," she replied.
"From what I have been informed, there was no intent — or malicious intent — behind it and that's why there would not have been a call.
"Given the information that we have now, had they had that information at that time, I can assure you that there would have been different decisions made."
The internal investigators who assessed the 2024 Glen Stewart incident also did not know about the 2023 incident at West Kent. The PSB said that's because there wasn't a centralized tracking system to register staff complaints. One has since been implemented.
There are resources and supports available to anyone who has experienced sexual violence:
- Victim Services P.E.I. / Queens and Kings County: 902-368-4582; Prince County: 902-888-8218
- Rise P.E.I. / Phone or text: 902-218-6143
- P.E.I. Rape and Sexual Assault Centre / Call: 902-368-8055 or 1-888-368-8055
- Here is a list of sexual assault centres, crisis lines and support services elsewhere in Canada.
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