Calgary teacher charged with sex-related offences
Posted Dec 14, 2018 3:20 pm.
Last Updated Dec 14, 2018 8:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – A Calgary teacher has been charged with sexual interference with a child under the age of 16 and unlawful confinement following an incident at Bob Edwards School.
Police were called to the middle school in Marlborough on October 25, over reports several students had been touched inappropriately.
According to witnesses, the man appeared to be impaired and had attempted to speak to several of the students, making inappropriate comments and physical contact.
It’s also alleged one of the students ended up alone in a classroom with him and was prevented from leaving.
Police say the suspect left the school before officers arrived.
S/Sgt John Guigon is in charge of the Child Abuse Unit at the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.
He says in this case, the students did everything right.
“They’re very switched on kids, as soon as it started happening you can see on the video in fact where one kid runs to grab a teacher, the teacher responds almost immediately and discovers the student with the alleged offender, it really happened very quickly,” said Guigon. “The kids are very smart, very brave, knew something was wrong, responded appropriately and they should be commended.”
Guigon said everything except the inappropriate touching appears to have been caught on CCTV.
There is no indication that there were any previous incidents, the accused was not previously known to the Calgary Police.
Investigators have put the victim in touch with the resources at the Child Advocacy Centre.
They suspect there may be other victims who have yet to come forward and they have not ruled out additional charges.
Mikhail Kolesnikov, 35, of Calgary, has been released on several conditions and is due back in court in January.
Kolesnikov, who was not previously known to police, has taught in both Calgary and Edmonton.
The Calgary Board of Education issued a statement:
“The Calgary Board of Education is aware of the charges laid against a staff member from an incident at Bob Edwards School in October. The school fully cooperated with the Calgary Police Service during their investigation. In accordance with the collective agreement, this employee is currently suspended with pay. As this is a personnel issue and now a legal issue, we are unable to provide further comment.”
