The former London, Ont., teacher who pleaded guilty to various sex crimes involving a minor before skipping his original sentencing date last month will serve nearly four and half years in prison.
Dustin Epp pleaded guilty in October 2022 to sexual exploitation, voyeurism, possessing child pornography and making child pornography.
The 48-year-old, who previously taught physics and computer science at Oakridge Secondary School, was originally scheduled to be sentenced for those charges on Jan. 17, but was absent.
Epp was arrested days later in Sudbury before being additionally charged with failing to comply with the court date.
He was held in the Sudbury Jail following his arrest and was transferred to the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre in London on Feb. 3.
On Wednesday, Epp appeared in court and pleaded guilty to his latest charge of failing to comply.
The court then heard a joint submission read by assistant Crown attorney Meredith Gardiner, which called for a sentence of four and half years. In an earlier hearing on the matter last week, Gardiner told Epp she would agree to that joint submission so long as he pleaded guilty to failing to comply.
Gardiner also read out three impact statements written by family members of the victim.
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“These events have impacted me so greatly. I cannot, do not want to write more than this line,” Gardiner said quoting the entirety of the victim’s father’s statement.
A statement from the victim’s sister questioned the safety of schools, adding that she’s “apprehensive to send my child to school, where they may be exposed to another monster hiding in the dark.”
The sister also noted the victim “continues to suffer from insomnia and still inflicts self-harm.”
“Whatever the outcome of this day is, you deserve it and in my opinion, you deserve worse,” Gardiner said quoting the sister.
“You, Epp, should be ever so grateful you reside in Canada. In other countries around the world, your life would be the retribution paid for the horrific crimes you are guilty of.”
A statement from the victim’s mother detailed how she “fell apart.”
“My daughter became emotionless and didn’t care about life. This for me was unbearable and heartbreaking.”
After court heard the statements, Epp was given a chance to add anything he wanted to say about himself before Justice Kevin McHugh would decide on a sentence.
“I am extremely sorry for the harm which my bad decisions have caused, other than that, I have nothing to say,” Epp said.
McHugh read an agreed statement of facts before the court which provided a graphic account of Epp’s crimes against the victim, who was 17 at the time.
Epp had cautioned the victim to keep their interactions secret, as his job might be jeopardized had others learned they were meeting outside of school, according to the agreed statement of facts.
The situation escalated with the two engaging in various sexual acts over a period of time.
The victim confided in a friend sometime later, which eventually led to police becoming involved before Epp was arrested on Jan. 17, 2020.
During the police investigation, a search was carried out on Epp’s home. Officers seized about 24 electronic devices from his residence, nearly half of which contained images of child pornography, according to the agreed statements of facts.
“It was the case that a total of about 40,000 or thereabout images had been found, and about 39,500 of them were unique, in other words, were not duplicates of any other images found,” McHugh said, while reading the agreed statement of facts.
McHugh agreed with the sentence called for in the joint submission, along with the orders sought for Epp.
One such order prohibits Epp from contacting a number of people, including some of the victim’s family. Epp is banned from possessing weapons for 10 years and is prohibited from attending daycare centres, playgrounds, schoolgrounds or community centres. Epp can’t attend any public park or public swimming area where someone under the age of 16 may be present, nor can he be within 100 metres of any place he knows to be the home, school or workplace of the victim.
Epp’s also not allowed to seek employment or volunteer opportunities that place him in a position of trust or authority for those under the age of 16, nor is he allowed to use the internet to communicate with anyone under 16 who is not his family member. This order also prohibits Epp from accessing or creating personal profiles on social media websites.
As for prison time, McHugh said minus his time already served, which amounts to 45 days, Epp is sentenced to 1,575 days of custody or about four years and nearly four months.
Support is available for those who have been victimized:
- The Department of Justice Victim Services Directory includes a list of support services in your area.
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) Available 24/7 or Text CONNECT 686868
- Anova 24-hour Crisis and Support Line: 519-642-3000 or 1-800-265-1576 (toll-free)
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