Teacher charged with possession of child porn
Bergeron teaches history, English and social studies at Thomas A. Stewart
A Peterborough high school teacher has been arrested after a probe into child pornography.
The city police investigation led to a local home Tuesday morning, where a suspect was taken into custody, police said Wednesday.
Jeffrey Paul Bergeron, 50, of Little Street, Peterborough, was charged with possession of child pornography. He was held in custody and appeared in court Tuesday.
Bergeron is a teacher with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, teaching history, English and social studies at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School in Peterborough.
The school board has launched its own internal investigation, according to board chairperson Diane Lloyd.
Bergeron has been relieved of his current duties, removed from all of the board’s workplaces and prohibited from any interactions with students indefinitely, Lloyd stated.
The school’s principal issued a letter to parents.
“The purpose of this letter is to share with you that police have charged a member of our staff, Jeffrey Bergeron, with possession of child pornography,” wrote Melanie Foulkes.
“Peterborough Police issued a media release today indicating that Mr. Bergeron was arrested and charged yesterday. We understand that this information will be very concerning for students and parents. In all things, the safety of our students is foremost in our minds.
“We take all allegations of misconduct seriously, and we take action immediately in every case. We investigate every allegation, and will continue to cooperate with local police on this matter.
“Mr. Bergeron has been removed from all of our workplaces and prohibited from any interactions with students indefinitely.”
She urged parents to contact her at melanie_foulkes@kprdsb.ca with any questions.
Thomas A. Stewart, like all other publicly funded schools in the province, is currently closed due to COVID-19 and will not reopen until fall at the earliest.
Police say the investigation continues and ask anyone with information to contact Det. Const. Lara Perks at the at 705876-1122 ext. 304 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.