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Teacher with food fetish targeted Halton girls By Teri Pecoskie, HAMILTON SPECTATOR A former Halton teacher has been stripped of his licence for having inappropriate, sexually-laced online conversations with at least 21 of his elementary school students. Now, The Spectator has found that Gavin Bradford, who asked numerous female students to smear themselves with pie, ketchup, eggs and other foods in front of a webcam, is also under investigation for his conduct in Scotland, where he is registered as a secondary school teacher. Following a four-year probe, the Ontario College of Teachers revoked Bradford's teaching certificate in November after he admitted to communicating inappropriately with the girls through MSN Messenger and at school. The decision was publicized in the latest issue of Professionally Speaking, the regulatory body's quarterly magazine. The incidents took place in 2006 and 2007 while Bradford was on a shortterm contract with the Halton District School Board, according to the college's disciplinary decision posted online. Neither the school board nor the college will reveal where Bradford was teaching when the communications took place, saying they want to try to protect the students' identities. The sprawling Halton board contains 81 elementary schools within Oakville, Burlington, Milton and other outlying towns. Bradford's profile on the college's website does, however, indicate that he was registered to teach music at Grade 7, 8 and high school levels. According to online documents, the college began investigating the allegations in April 2007 -- a full year before Bradford resigned from his job with the Halton board. "Restricting a member from his or her livelihood requires egregious evidence to justify an interim suspension," said college spokesperson Gabrielle Barkany. At the time, she added, there wasn't enough proof. In all, it took more than four years to build and decide the case -- a delay Barkany attributed to the college having to wait on "crucial evidentiary information." By the time the decision was made public, Bradford was provisionally registered to teach in Scotland -- the country where, in 1996, he was awarded his bachelor of education in music from the University of Glasgow. In Scotland, teachers are first licensed on a provisional basis. They're later granted full registration once they demonstrate to the General Teaching Council that they have achieved certain standards. The college notified the council in the wake of its decision, prompting the Scottish regulatory body to launch its own investigation into the music teacher's conduct, said council spokesperson Kelly Forbes. "We are aware of the case in Ontario," she said, adding that the council has no record of Bradford being in a teaching position in that country. The Spectator, however, found a Gavin Bradford identified as music director at Coatbridge College, just east of Glasgow, in a recent news story on the school's website. During his investigation, Bradford indicated he had no intention of living or working in Canada again. He also did not contest the facts in his case and wasn't present or represented at his November hearing. Forbes said the council's "fitness to teach" panel is scheduled to hear Bradford's case July 24. It's standard practice for the college to inform other national and international teacher regulators about educators whose licences have been revoked. Though the college found no evidence of Bradford sexually touching his students, the disciplinary committee, nonetheless, found he had engaged in sexual abuse as defined in the Ontario College of Teachers Act. Halton police Sergeant Dave Cross would not say whether Bradford was the 9 · Friday, July 6, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com subject of any current or past criminal investigations, although he did confirm the police service has never pressed any charges against him. If your walls could talk, they'd thank you. Great home insurance. Protect your home with the best. And do it at a price that will have your wallet saying "thanks" too. Get to a better StateTM. Contact a State Farm® agent today. Darryl R Demille Ins Agcy Ltd Darryl Demille, CFP, Agent Oakville 905-842-1020 www.darryldemille.ca Andrew Heideman, Agent Oakville 905-829-0018 www.andrewheideman.ca Angelo Gualtieri, Agent Oakville 905-257-7773 www.angelogualtieri.com Deborah Bartucci, Agent Oakville 905-337-3276 www.autoinsuranceoakville.ca Stacey Sutherland, Agent Oakville 905-339-3276 www.insuranceinoakville.com Stephen Ostapchuk, Agent Mississauga/Oakville 905-238-5643 www.stephenostapchuk.ca Daniel Durst, Agent Oakville 905-847-1898 www.danieldurst.com statefarm.ca® 1201310CN State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Aurora, Ontario