Teacher accused of sexually assaulting 6 students dating back to ’70s

A B.C. man who used to live in the Ottawa area and teach in Montreal has been accused of sexually assaulting six students in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s in South Stormont Township, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say.

Phillip Baugniet, an 80-year-old resident of Victoria, B.C., has been charged with numerous offences under the former Criminal Code that was law in 1970, including:

• Seven counts of indecently assaulting a male.
• Two counts of sexual assault.
• Three counts of sexual interference.
• Buggery.
• Sexually assaulting a person under 16 years of age.

He was teaching at the Fine Arts Core Education school — a bilingual kindergarten, elementary and high school in Montreal — at the time of the alleged assaults, OPP said in a media release issued Tuesday.

“Students from the school travelled to a location in South Stormont Township on multiple occasions during this timeframe,” the release said.

OPP media relations acting manager Bill Dickson said the case involves six former students.

The investigation began in May after Montreal police contacted OPP. Baugniet was later arrested by OPP at a police station in Victoria.

He was released from custody after a bail hearing and is next scheduled to appear in court in Cornwall, Ont., on Nov. 16.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP crime unit at 1-888-310-1122, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.