Former Winnipeg teacher faces child pornography, sex assault charges

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This article was published 11/10/2024 (356 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former Winnipeg School Division teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a student and secretly recording videos of children and adults in a family change room at Seven Oaks Pool.

Police said Matthew James Mousseau, 37, allegedly recorded people in “various stages of undress” in the family change room in April 2023 and May 2024.

As the investigation continued, police learned Mousseau allegedly sexually assaulted a student he encountered while teaching at a high school in the North End.

“We do realize this is a traumatic event for this person. (It is) very courageous for this person to come forward and talk to investigators, and we do certainly thank the survivor for bringing this up to us,” said police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

“There may be other survivors out there, so we implore them to contact the Winnipeg Police Service so that we may investigate that, as well.”

The suspect worked in a position of power with access to children, said Chancy.

Mousseau worked for WSD from 2021 until he resigned May 7, said Supt. Matt Henderson.

“I cannot make further comment given that it is a personnel issue and a criminal investigation,” Henderson wrote in an email.

School newsletters and other online material described Mousseau as the WSD’s Indigenous way of life teacher or a cultural support worker.

Newsletters highlighted his visits to schools throughout the division to educate students about Indigenous culture and provide hand drum lessons.

WSD’s website said Mousseau performed two songs at a closing ceremony for the division’s 150th anniversary in 2022.

Mousseau did some volunteer work at Rossbrook House, an inner-city drop-in centre, a spokeswoman said.

There is no indication of any alleged wrongdoing by Mousseau during his time there, she said.

Police said Mousseau is no longer employed by any school division in Winnipeg, but they cannot speak to whether he has been hired outside the city.

Mousseau resigned from WSD about two months before WPS internet child-exploitation unit was alerted to child sexual abuse images on a smartphone. An arrest warrant was issued after investigators searched the phone.

The discovery was prompted by an earlier, “smaller” investigation, which is ongoing, said Chancy.

“The initial investigation, which we’re not speaking about today, that brought forward more evidence, which led to the continuation of where we have these arrests and charges,” he said.

Chancy said hundreds of videos and photos were found on the phone that allegedly belonged to Mousseau.

Some images were not related to the investigation into videos of children and adults at the public swimming pool in the Maples, police said.

They could be from various places, said Chancy.

Police wouldn’t say how the videos were recorded, nor how many times the suspect allegedly went to the pool.

“We know it’s multiple individuals that were recorded,” said Chancy.

While investigating, detectives learned the suspect “had previously inappropriately engaged” with a student while teaching at a North End high school, said police, who did not identify the school.

Mousseau was arrested Oct. 2. Chancy said it took some time for police to obtain search warrants and retrieve videos and images from the phone.

Mousseau is charged with possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography and voyeurism in connection with the alleged offences at Seven Oaks Pool.

Chancy said it will be extremely difficult to identify people in the videos.

“If (there’s) any way those people can be identified, there will be contacts made by the Winnipeg Police Service victim services to be able to link them to proper supports, because all these things are very traumatic in nature, and they are an assault on people’s privacy,” he said.

Mousseau is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation for alleged offences against a student.

He was released from custody with conditions. Police said the release order is mandated by the Criminal Code. Conditions typically include orders not to be around children.

Anyone with information is asked to call ICE investigators at 204-986-6172.

City spokesman Adam Campbell said recreation employees are trained to respond to reports of odd or unusual behaviours, including filming in change areas, which is not permitted, and to conduct regular scans inside facilities.

“The City of Winnipeg takes any concerns of patron safety in its recreation facilities seriously,” he wrote in an email. “We encourage the public to report any concerning behaviours to any employee at our facilities to assist us in providing a safe environment.”

Police encouraged people to be aware of their surroundings, especially when they use a public change room or washroom, and report any suspicious items or activity.

“There have been (incidents), in the age of electronics, where people have hidden things in public settings, where they’re able to record people doing things in private,” said Chancy.

“They’re not always able to be seen by the people that are victimized. Just be aware that those things are possible.”

The goal is to educate the public, he added.

“If they feel something is wrong… report it so that we can investigate it,” said Chancy.

That advice was echoed by Stephen Sauer, director of Cybertip.ca, the national tip line for reporting online sexual exploitation of children.

Sauer said Cybertip.ca, which is run by the Winnipeg-based Canadian Centre for Child Protection, receives reports of “voyeuristic child sexual abuse” and abuse allegedly carried out by people in positions of power or trust.

“The one thing I would tell the public is if they do see odd or concerning behaviour by the adults that are intersecting with kids is that they trust their gut and their instinct to tell somebody about that and report it,” said Sauer. “You need to trust those instincts, and you need to find an avenue to at least flag those behaviours.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca