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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.