Saturday, April 7, 2018

Advocate calls for inquiry after receiving new complaints about principal

abuse accountability crime education misconduct pedophilia rape impunity

The fallout from sexual misconduct charges against a London principal spread Friday, with police looking for possible new complainants and the London Abused Women’s Centre calling for an investigation at the area public school board after learning of more allegations.

The centre received six calls Friday from a combination of complainants and whistleblowers after a story in The London Free Press about the charges against Michael Deeb, executive director Megan Walker said.

Some of the allegations date back 20 years, Walker said.

“This is a situation where many people knew what was going on and minimized it,” she said. “They always said, ‘Let it go.’ We have seen a pattern of dismissal. This could have stopped 20 years ago.”

None of the allegations that have now been made have been proved in court.

London lawyer Faisal Joseph, who has done the talking for Deeb, said he has concerns about how the allegations are unfolding.

“It’s concerning to me that people are not coming forward directly to the authorities or the Thames Valley District school board, but through a third party like Megan Walker,” Joseph said.

The school board must take allegations of sexual misconduct especially seriously, given its responsibility for children, Walker said.

She called on the board to begin an external, independent investigation into the allegations against Deeb and the culture she contends dismissed the complainants and, in some cases, exposed staff to reprisals.  (more...)


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