Police have laid child pornography charges against a 28-year-old teaching assistant at Upper Canada College, one of the country's elite private schools.
Ashley Chivers, who works at UCC's Preparatory School in Toronto with children as young as 6, was arrested yesterday after police seized three computers and "a large quantity" of child pornography at his residence. According to UCC administrators, Mr. Chivers has worked at the school since 1998, and was involved with UCC's Summer Kids Camp program from 1996 to 2001.
Officers with Toronto's sex crimes unit said Mr. Chivers was brought to their attention by American authorities who were carrying out a lengthy child pornography investigation. Mr. Chivers is charged with possessing child pornography, attempting to import child pornography, and making child pornography.
Police would not say whether any of the materials seized as part of the investigation depicted children from UCC.
In a letter sent out to parents and alumni yesterday, UCC principal Doug Blakey asked that parents speak to their children about their interactions with Mr. Chivers, and expressed his dismay: "Needless to say, all of us at the school are shocked and extremely concerned to learn of these charges."
Mr. Chivers's arrest opens yet another chapter in a sex scandal that has engulfed the school since the arrest of teacher Doug Brown in August of 2001. Mr. Brown is charged with a series of sexual assaults against students in the mid-1970s. His case is in the preliminary-hearing stage.
Mr. Brown's arrest opened a Pandora's box of negative publicity for UCC. Among the nasty revelations that have emerged since then are the 1971 rape of student Ron Fenn by former UCC teacher Clark Winton Noble, who was allowed to leave UCC quietly and go on to teach at other private schools. Mr. Noble was later convicted of sexually assaulting a student at Appleby College in Oakville, Ont.
UCC also faces two lawsuits filed by former students, including Mr. Fenn, who charges that the school knew Mr. Noble was a predatory pedophile but did nothing about it. A Globe and Mail investigation also revealed that the school paid $25,000 to a former student in 1993 after he complained that he had been sexually abused by a teacher.
In the letter released yesterday, Mr. Blakey emphasized that the school would be co-operating fully with the police in their investigation of Mr. Chivers.
"We do not know what this investigation will ultimately discover, but we are concentrating our efforts on supporting the police investigation, encouraging and providing support to those who may come forward with relevant information, and ensuring our students continue to receive the high-quality education they have always enjoyed from their school."
Mr. Chivers was scheduled to appear at a bail hearing this morning at Toronto's Old City Hall.