Montreal-area private school teacher arrested in connection with child pornography
Parents at a private school on Montreal's South Shore received a disturbing letter Friday night informing them a teacher had been arrested in connection with child pornography.
Gilles Croteau is a math teacher at Collège Trinité, a private high school in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville.
In its notice to parents obtained by CTV News, the school said Croteau could face charges of luring, inciting sexual contact and producing child pornography.
"We are surveying the situation hour by hour with [Longueuil police]," the letter states.
The school said there's no indication that Croteau targeted students, but he has been suspended from the job and is banned from campus.
"We have no information that leads us to believe that one of our students was a victim," the letter continues.
Denise Parsons is a parent of two daughters who were taught by Croteau some years ago.
She says her daughters, both graduates of Collège Trinité, weren't directly affected by Croteau's alleged actions.
"It was a very big surprise. The news came, like news will come, out of nowhere," Parsons told CTV News. "My first thought as a parent [was] I need to reach out to them and follow up with them to see what extent the exploitation had reached, and if that was something that was touching my daughters."
Parsons said Croteau's arrest came as a total shock.
"I had a very good idea of who I thought he was and what he was doing in school. I had a lot of respect for him," she said.
In a statement, Collège Trinité said it's taking the allegations seriously.
"The school administration has offered its full cooperation to [Longueuil police] and has already taken action to ensure the integrity of its environment and a healthy learning environment for all its students," the statement reads.
This includes offering psychological services and directing parents to investigators if need be.
But Denise Parsons thinks services should be extended to former students as well.
"I think it's really important that the families of the students from the past know more as well and are kept in the dialogue and in the communications in some certain way with the school so we can do continual follow-up and support," she said.
Collège Trinité declined to further comment on the matter as the judicial process is ongoing.
Croteau's arrest was one of dozens made in a recent cross-Quebec crackdown on child pornography and other sexual offences against minors.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.