An Ottawa teacher is facing four charges following an investigation into alleged sexual assaults involving a male under the age of 18, police say.
Rayon Finnikin, 37, was charged Friday with sexual assault, voyeurism, sexual exploitation and telecommunication with a person under the age of 18 for a specific criminal offence.
The alleged assaults began in 2019 and occurred at Ottawa-based programs and schools, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said in a Friday night media release.
Investigators believe there could be other victims, OPS said.
Both of Ottawa’s English-language school boards say Finnikin worked for them.
In a statement to CBC, the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) said he was an occasional teacher at Sacred Heart High School last year.
The OCSB said police notified the board of the charges against Finnikin on Friday, the same day he was charged.
“At this time, we have not received any information from OPS indicating that OCSB students were affected,” wrote Sharlene Hunter, the board’s manager of communications, in an email to CBC.
The OCSB is “fully prepared” to offer students and their families the “necessary resources and support,” Hunter wrote, if the police investigation reveals that OCSB students were affected.
‘These are serious charges,’ says OCDSB
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) told CBC that Finnikin worked for them as an occasional teacher as well, but did not specify which schools.
The OCDSB also did not specify when it was first informed of Finnikin’s charges.
The board will “fully co-operate” with the police investigation, OCDSB communications officer Darcy Knoll wrote in an emailed statement to CBC.
“These are serious charges,” Knoll wrote.
The board is also investigating the charges internally “to determine further action from an employment perspective,” he added.
“The OCDSB has prevented [Finnikin] from accepting any further work while the investigation takes place,” Knoll wrote.
According to the OPS, Finnikin appeared in court on Saturday. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police force’s sexual assault and child abuse unit.