Published May 05, 2025 • 5 minute readP.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz says the province will conduct an independent investigation into the actions of the Public Schools Branch following a complaint related to inappropriate touching of a student by a former substitute teacher. That teacher has since plead guilty to four offences, including three involving distribution of child pornography. Photo by Stu Neatby /The GuardianP.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz says the province will conduct an independent investigation of the events leading up to the arrest of a Public Schools Branch substitute teacher related to charges of distribution of child sex abuse images and sexual interference involving a student.Matthew Alan Craswell, a former substitute teacher, pleaded guilty to four offences on April 29, including sexually touching an elementary school student as well as three child pornography offences.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentIt emerged in court facts that a parent had complained to the school principal of Glen Stewart Primary School in April 2024 after their young child was touched inappropriately by a teacher who was identified as Craswell. The complaint was escalated by the principal to the Public Schools Branch (PSB) but Craswell was kept on as a substitute teacher, although he was barred from teaching at elementary schools.The complaint was not reported to law enforcement.Read More P.E.I. government faces questions about substitute teacher guilty of child pornography, sexual touching charges P.E.I. Public Schools Branch starts provincewide tracking of incidents ‘Horrific series of events’Months later, in August 2024, Craswell was arrested by police following a separate investigation involving the distribution of child pornography.Online chats obtained by police included claims by Craswell of misconduct involving multiple children while in his role as a teacher.Article contentSpeaking during question period on May 2, Lantz called the details a “terrible tragedy” and said it was a “horrific series of events.”“I have committed to get to the bottom of what happened, what could have been done better, and what we can do better in the future,” Lantz said.“I think that that needs to be done independently, and we will launch an independent investigation, based on the facts that we know, to discover what we can do better in the future to prevent something like this from happening.”Lantz also referred to this investigation as an “independent inquiry.”However, an email provided made no mention of the Public Inquiries Act. The email said the “independent review” will involve an audit of the PSB “complaints and records process,” that it will be conducted by staff outside of government and that recommendations will be made public.The Guardian requested an interview with Lantz after question period. This request was declined, staff said, due to the ongoing court process involving Craswell.Article contentThird day of questionsThe premier’s comments came after the third straight day of questions from the Opposition Liberals on the subject.Opposition Leader Hal Perry noted Lantz was the minister of education from October 2024 to February 2025.“When did the premier first become aware that a substitute educator was allowed to continue teaching for months after serious allegations were made?”“I can’t say exactly,” Lantz said in response.The premier said he became aware of the arrest of Craswell when it was reported in the media, before he became the minister of education.“I was aware that this was moving through the courts, I was aware of some of the details, but we’ve only recently seen the conclusion of this case with a guilty verdict and an agreed statement of facts,” Lantz said.Lantz also said he believed the opposition was using the matter as a “political weapon.” Opposition Leader Hal Perry asked several questions about what Premier Rob Lantz knew, during his tenure as education minister, about a decision to allow a substitute teacher to remain employed at the Public Schools Branch after a complaint of inappropriate touching of a student was made against this individual. Photo by Stu Neatby /The GuardianEarlier complaintsFormer MLA Natalie Jameson was minister of education from February 2021 to October 2024. Robin Croucher was named minister of education in February 2025.Article contentAn email from the PSB confirmed the April 2024 complaint against Craswell was investigated but was “deemed non-sexual in nature.” The email said the parents of the child chose not to report the incident to police at that time.However, an earlier complaint of misconduct against Craswell was also made in June 2023 at another school. The email said this was not pursued by parents of the student.After Craswell was charged in August 2024, PSB staff followed up with these parents. The parents of the 2024 incident contacted police, while the parents who reported the 2023 incident did not.The email said information available to PSB in 2023 and April 2024 “did not lead anyone involved to conclude there was sexual intent.” Court testimony later “revealed disturbing information about Matthew Craswell’s motivation that was previously not known to the Public Schools Branch.”The Guardian asked if the decision to retain Craswell as a substitute teacher in higher grades after the April 2024 complaint was in line with policy.Article content“Matthew Craswell had more experience and training for high school grade levels,” reads the email from PSB communications officer Matt MacLeod.“Based on the information we had in 2024, the Public Schools Branch believed that his lack of experience and training for elementary school grades contributed to the complaint in April 2024, so based on his training, he was allocated to high school grades.”Vulnerable sector checkLantz was also asked by Perry why a review of Public Schools Branch policies did not happen earlier, given the August 2024 arrest of Craswell.“What I knew is generally the facts that are now agreed to in the statement of facts in court, but what I don’t know is why our system of safeguards failed. I don’t know why an apparent international allegation did not show on the vulnerable sector check,” Lantz said.Lantz was referring to an extradition request of Craswell from South Korea linked to a 2018 allegation of voyeurism. This was revealed in court testimony on April 29.Article contentPSB staff have said they were not aware of the extradition request until it was revealed in the April 29 court facts, despite a December 2023 vulnerable sector check of Craswell completed by RCMP.In an email to The Guardian, Gavin Moore, RCMP media relations officer, said vulnerable sector checks identify situations where individuals are convicted or charged for offences within Canada but not for matters outside of Canadian borders. Moore declined to comment specifically on the Craswell case as it is still before the courts.Parents ‘appalled’A letter to PSB officials, circulated by parents of students at Glen Stewart Primary School and obtained by The Guardian, expressed frustration that neither child protection services nor the RCMP were informed after the April 2024 complaint was made against Craswell.“We are appalled that the individual responsible for this conduct was not immediately and permanently removed from all educational settings,” the letter says.The letter requested a public meeting involving officials from the PSB, Glen Stewart Primary School, the RCMP, and child protection services, as well as an account of the timeline that followed the April 2024 complaint against Craswell.The letter, which was not signed, requested written confirmation from PSB of a public meeting by May 7.Stay informed: Don’t miss the news you need to know. Sign up for our newsletter today.Stu Neatby is a political reporter for The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at sneatby@postmedia.com and followed on X @stu_neatby.Article content
P.E.I. premier to call independent review after sex offences conviction of substitute teacher
