An Australian charged with sexually abusing children while living in Whistler was also investigated in Sydney, Australia for sexual misconduct involving students at an exclusive boys school.
According to the Sun-Herald newspaper, as many as a dozen pupils at the school, which caters to high-profile families, may have been involved.
The alleged offences took place in 2001, and came to light just a few months before the man obtained a visa to come to Canada to work for one year.
There were no criminal charges associated with the allegations in Australia but the school took out a series of Apprehended Violence Orders against the man.
"As I understand it in this instance the (AVO) has been made permanent and … he literally bolted I gather to your country afterwards," said said Max Rawnsley, director of finance and administration at The Scots College.
"In this state as soon as the college…is made aware of this type of allegation the law requires the immediate, not five minutes or ten minutes, but the immediate notification of the child protection unit and the ombudsman for children.
"They would be here within the hour and those procedures were absolutely followed by the school and that was what occurred in this case.
The suspect consented to the AVOs, which act like a restraining order in Canada. There is no admission of guilt in consenting to the order, which bans him permanently him from any contact with two boys, aged 17 and 14.
The suspect is currently charged in with nine sex offences involving six children, five of whom live in Whistler, and he has made two appearances in North Vancouver Provincial Court.
He is being held in custody and will make his next appearance June 12.
The charges relate to four of the six children and are alleged to have occurred between February 1,2002 and April 28, 2003.
None of the charges relate to any agency in Whistler that involves children.
According to Australian media the suspect was a non-teaching staff member at the boys school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Each of the boys was a resident at the school, and some had parents overseas at the time of the alleged incidents.
As soon as the allegations came to light the school reported them to the police. Specialist detectives from the New South Wales Child Protection Enforcement Agency investigated the allegations.
The suspect, who lived in Whistler for about a year, cannot be identified due to a court ordered ban to protect the complainants.
