PEIEducational staff in P.E.I. will now undergo reference checks after it was revealed that a former substitute teacher charged with sex crimes faced allegations overseas, despite passing a vulnerable sector check here in Canada. CBC News obtains new information about what RCMP knew before substitute teacher was arrestedListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesEducation Minister Robin Croucher outlined the new measures in an interview with CBC News on Thursday. (CBC)Educational staff in P.E.I. who have worked internationally will now undergo reference checks after it was revealed that a former substitute teacher charged with sex crimes passed a vulnerable sector check — despite facing allegations overseas.Education Minister Robin Croucher outlined the new measures in an interview with CBC News on Thursday.CBC News has obtained new information about what the RCMP knew about Matthew Alan Craswell before they met him face to face and before any charges against him were laid — information that wouldn’t have turned up in the screening conducted before Craswell was hired by P.E.I.’s Public Schools Branch.The 41-year-old pleaded guilty in April to charges related to child sex abuse images and sexually touching an elementary school student in a classroom. Craswell has also been charged with one count of sexual interference, which is the sexual touching of a person under the age of 16, in connection with another alleged incident at a different Island school.Newly unsealed documents reveal an RCMP search for Craswell in the Police Reporting and Occurrence System (PROS) turned up an extradition request in regards to an allegation of “Intrusion upon Publicly Used Places with Intent to Satisfy Sexual Urges” under South Korean law while Craswell was working as a teacher there in September 2018.CBC News went to court to gain access to the Information to Obtain (ITO) — a sworn statement by a police officer detailing the facts they believe provide reasonable grounds for a judge or justice of the peace to issue a search warrant — in the Craswell case.The ITO reveals RCMP were able to access the details of that allegation: that Craswell was accused of breaking into a female students’ dressing room at a swimming pool while working as a teacher.“Matthew Craswell was not arrested in Canada for this offence (and there was no information to suggest that he was extradited),” the ITO reads.But none of that information would have been available to the Public Schools Branch through the standard checks conducted before Craswell was hired.WATCH | Student safety in classrooms a main focus of P.E.I. Home and School Federation’s annual meeting :Student safety in classrooms a main focus of P.E.I. Home and School Federation’s annual meetingThe case of former substitute teacher Matthew Craswell is sparking concern among Island parents. Craswell pleaded guilty earlier this year to sexually touching a student in a Stratford classroom, and he faces a charge connected to a separate incident at a Charlottetown school. CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin spoke with P.E.I. Home and School Federation president David Schult about how the organization is focusing on student safety. Wednesday, the province announced a ministerial directive requiring both of the province’s school boards to revamp policies around educational staff employment, including regular criminal record and vulnerable sector checks.In an email to CBC News, the Public Schools Branch said it has augmented its hiring process “to include international declarations and/or international criminal records checks where possible.”The PSB now requires applicants to sign a legal declaration about any criminal history. Anyone with gaps in their employment history and/or international travel will also be required to sign a legal declaration about their history.Croucher acknowledged these new measures aren’t a guarantee that bad actors won’t make their way into the school system, but he hopes the threat of termination for lying or omitting information in those declarations will be a deterrent.“We have to trust that people will be honest and up front in disclosing any issues that come forward.”After Craswell’s crimes came to light in court, the PSB revealed it was only after his arrest that a connection was made between the two classroom incidents he was involved in. Croucher believes the new policies will mean suspected predators will be recognized and reported more quickly.“We’ve spent a significant amount of time refreshing our policy and procedure, refreshing our staff on what to look for in these types of behaviours. So I believe our staff are much better prepared now than they ever have been,” he said.“My belief is that, moving forward, these types of individuals will be identified much faster, and the expectation is that these will be acted on in a much more acute manner.”After Craswell’s charges were made public, the PSB announced a tracking system for all casual and substitute staff to monitor their status and any concerning trends between schools.WATCH | P.E.I. orders new policy for school staff, including criminal record checks:P.E.I. orders new policies for school staff, including those related to criminal record checksP.E.I. will require both the province’s school boards to revamp policies around educational staff employment, including regular criminal record and vulnerable sector checks. The move comes after a former substitute teacher pleaded guilty earlier this year to sexually touching a student. CBC’s Laura Meader has more.Former P.E.I. chief justice David Jenkins is also carrying out a third-party review that will look at the handling of safety incidents within the province’s education authorities and how Craswell was able to continue teaching. That report is expected to be made public.Croucher said the province is committed to ensuring schools are a safe place for Island children.“We all have a responsibility for that.… That’s myself as the minister, our department, our education authorities and our staff with the system,” he said.“Everyone is working very, very hard to make sure our schools are the safest spaces we can send our children.”
School staff screening to go beyond vulnerable sector checks, P.E.I. promises in wake of Craswell incident
