Greater Victoria teacher permanently banned from teaching after child porn conviction
Correction: A previous photo credit for this story mentioned Gregory Garost, a middle school teacher who was suspended for inappropriate conduct in 2019. Garost’s suspension is not related to this case and was mentioned in error.
An elementary school teacher in the Greater Victoria School District (SD61) had his teaching certificate permanently banned after being convicted of possessing child pornography.
Travis Curry Mitchell first received a teaching certificate in 2018.
In June 2020, SD61 filed a report about Mitchell to the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, and by July of that year he had signed an undertaking not to take on any teaching role in the province.
The commissioner says police first began investigating Mitchell in June 2020, after police received a report that he had inappropriately communicated with a minor outside of his teaching profession, but while Mitchell was in a "position of trust" with the child.
He was arrested on June 9, at which point police searched his phone and computer and found child pornography on the devices, according to a consent resolution agreement between the commissioner and Mitchell.
In April 2021, Mitchell pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to an 18-month conditional sentence followed by 12 months of probation on Oct. 13, 2021.
The conditions of his probation include a ban on communicating with anyone under the age of 16, and a 10-year inclusion on the National Sex Offender Registry.
Since the incident occurred while Mitchell was working as an elementary school teacher in the Greater Victoria School District, the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decided to place a lifetime ban on reissuing him a teaching certificate.
The commissioner laid out the penalty in a consent resolution agreement that was made public Tuesday, which Mitchell agreed to.
"Mitchell agrees not to make any statement orally or in writing which contradicts, disputes or calls into question the terms of this agreement or the admissions made in it," reads the agreement.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.