A retired Mission school district teacher has been charged with six counts of sexual crimes and one count of assault against his former students.
In February 2020, two former students of Donald Alan Sweet who are now adults reported the crimes took place while they were in Grade 6 and 7 at Durieu Elementary School, said Cpl. Jason Raaflaub, media relations officer with the Mission RCMP.
“We are releasing a photo of Mr. Sweet in order to further our investigation and identify anyone who may have more information about these or other potential offences,” Raaflaub said. “He no longer lives in the Mission area.”
One woman alleged she had been assaulted, while the other reported being sexually assaulted, around 2007 to 2008. The assaults allegedly took place in the school district and in a conference centre near Chilliwack, a March 6 RCMP news release said.
Their complaints were initially made through a general duty officer before the Mission RCMP’s serious crimes unit (SCU) took over the investigation, Raaflaub said.
SCU investigators forwarded their findings to Crown counsel, and Sweet has now formally been charged with four counts of sexual interference, two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault.
A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Sweet was briefly taken into custody before being released on Tuesday (March 2) on the condition he appear in Abbotsford provincial court on March 15.
Sweet taught in the Abbotsford school district from 1989 to 2000, then moved to the Mission school district, where he retired in 2010. He has no criminal record, or history of violations under the BC Teacher Regulation Branch.
Sweet was once an all-star CFL kicker who played for the Montreal Alouettes and Montreal Concordes over a 13-year career. He won two Grey Cups and was awarded the Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian Award three times – in 1974, 1977 and 1979.
The Mission RCMP victim services unit is continuing to support the women who came forward, according to their March 6 press release.
School district superintendent Angus Wilson has been made aware of the allegations, Raaflaub said.
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