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November 29, 2022 - 7:00 PM
A B.C. private school counsellor is permanently banned from working in schools after he was convicted for possessing child porn last year.
Luke Lawson served a four-month prison sentence, followed by 18 months probation after he pleaded guilty last year. He's now banned from working in B.C. schools for life, according to a B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision published today, Nov. 29.
"Lawson failed to act ethically and undermined the credibility of the teaching profession by violating laws that protect children from sexual exploitation," the decision reads.
The teaching commissioner found Lawson's conduct was "at the serious end of the spectrum."
Police searched both his home and the school, where investigators found both printed and digital images of young girls under the age of 16, according to the decision. The decision does not name the school, but CTV News reported Lawson was a counsellor at a West Vancouver independent school before he was arrested.
According to the decision, police searched Lawson's home on Sept. 24, 2020, where they found printed images of nude young girls and others on his work computer. He was arrested that day.
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Police then searched the West Vancouver school the next day, where police determined Lawson sent pornographic images to his work account and printed them at the school. Lawson was suspended from his job that day, according to the decision.
Before he was found guilty, he agreed not to work in B.C. schools on Nov. 6, 2020, as the teaching commissioner started its own investigation.
He agreed to the lifetime ban on reapplying for any teaching certificate in B.C., which came into effect Nov. 15.
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On Nov. 9, 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography, which he sourced from "nudist and naturalism websites" and did not include students at the school, according to the decision.
Along with his 18-month probation order, Lawson will be included on the nation sex offender registry for 10 years.
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