Toronto police say charges have been laid after a child was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a babysitter in the city.
Police said in a news release Thursday that between 2014 and 2016, a man worked in a home in the city as a babysitter and caregiver for a boy.
Officers allege the child was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the man in residences in the area of O’ Connor Drive and St. Clair Avenue East, as well as Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue.
An investigation was launched last month and a suspect was arrested on Aug. 13.
Forty-one-year-old Toronto resident Gianni Jarman, who officers said was previously known as Gianni Pate, was charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference, and two counts of invitation to sexual touching.
He’s scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Police said Jarman is also employed as a teacher with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) at Secord Elementary School.
In a letter sent to parents from the school’s principal and provided to Global News by the TDSB, the principal states that the charges are “unrelated to the school and to his duties as a teacher, do not involve any students at Secord ES and date back to 2015.”
“Upon learning of the arrest, Mr. Jarman (Pate) was placed on home assignment and will not return to the school for the start of the school year pending outcome of the matter,” the letter said.
“While it is important to remember that laying criminal charges does not constitute guilt, and that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, we also cannot and do not take these allegations lightly.”
Officers said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2922 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.
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