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A Toronto private school teacher has plead guilty to sex offences involving minors and making child pornography.allanswart/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A Toronto private school teacher has plead guilty to sex offences involving minors and making child pornography.

The name of the teacher, the victims and the school he taught at were placed under a publication ban by an Ontario judge.

The teacher, 43, taught physical education and music at the private school from 2003 until last year. He also coached sports teams.

The court heard on Thursday that the teacher would send the victims, two former students at the school, sexually explicit text messages.

He also requested sexual videos and images from one of his victims, the court heard.

The teacher was hired by one of the victim's parents to tutor her in math. The court heard that the victim was at his house almost weekly. During one tutoring session, the teacher took the victim to his basement where he kissed her and fondled her hips, buttocks and breasts over her clothing.

On one occasion, on a school bus after attending a volleyball game, the teacher groped his second victim above her waist, the court heard.

He also invited her to his home, where he undressed her, kissed her and performed oral sex on her.

Crown attorney Patricia Garcia told the court that the teacher "preyed" on his victims and he took advantage of them.

One of the victims first met the teacher when she was seven. She said he was a mentor who taught her how to play volleyball.

"Someone I trusted so deeply manipulated me. He forced me to do things I wasn't comfortable with and that I didn't want to do," she told the court. "This was not a consensual relationship. This was an abuse of power."

The other victim told the court that she and her family have spent thousands of dollars to deal with her depression and anxiety following the ordeal.

"He was my teacher and he was supposed to protect me, not hurt me," she told the court.

The teacher, a father of two, was emotional in court as he apologized to the victims and their families on Thursday. He plead guilty to sexual interference, sexual exploitation and making child pornography.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July.

A lawyer for The Globe and Mail and the CBC argued after the guilty plea on Thursday that the publication ban was "exceptional." The names of victims are protected, but Iain MacKinnon said it was uncommon to face a publication ban on the name of the accused.

The media outlets are challenging the publication ban. A judge will decide later this month.

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