A former B.C. private school counsellor who printed off photos of child pornography while at work has been banned from teaching in the province for life.
Luke Lawson pleaded guilty to child porn charges in November 2021 and was sentenced to four months in jail and 18 months of probation in June 2022.
In the course of their investigation, police discovered Lawson had been sending images of child porn to his personal school email and printing them off at Mulgrave private school in West Vancouver, where he worked. Police executed a search warrant of Lawson’s home in September 2020 and found printed and digital images of nude young girls.
The subsequent criminal trial found the images were pulled from nudist and naturalism websites, and did not involve any students from Mulgrave private school.
Still, the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation found Lawson’s criminal actions were enough to ban him from the profession for life.
“Lawson failed to act ethically and undermined the credibility of the teaching profession by violating laws that protect children from sexual exploitation,” reads the consent agreement between Lawson and the commissioner, released Tuesday (Nov. 29).
Lawson hasn’t been teaching in B.C. since 2020.
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jane.skrypnek@blackpress.ca
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