Ottawa police said Tuesday they’ve charged a 53-year-old man with sex offences dating back to his time as a teacher with the city’s French public school board.
The police’s sexual assault and child abuse section said it investigated allegations of related to a student tracing back to the summer of 2017.
The suspect was working as a teacher with the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO) at French Alternative school at the time, police said.
The suspect was working at the school as recently as January, according to the board.
CEPEO said in a statement to Global News that it first became aware of the allegations on Jan. 19, at which point the accused was removed from his position and suspended, pending an investigation.
“The CEPEO and école secondaire publique L’Alternative take this situation very seriously and are cooperating with the Ottawa Police Service,” the board said in an email.
Alain Phaneuf has been charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation.
The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
Investigators said they are concerned there could be additional victims.
Anyone with information is asked to call 613-236-1222 ext. 5944. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.