A former elementary school teacher in B.C.'s Vancouver Island North School District has been charged with possessing and distributing child pornography.
Timothy Joseph Ouellette, 45, has been under investigation since March by officers with the B.C. Integrated Child Exploitation Unit (BC ICE). The RCMP seized "multiple pieces of evidence" after searching Ouellette's Port McNeill apartment, said a news release Wednesday.
Ouellette was suspended from his teaching position as soon as school district officials learned of his arrest, HQ Comox Valley reported. He is no longer employed by the Board of Education.
"There is no evidence to suggest that any of the children depicted in the evidence gathered are from the Port McNeill area," said RCMP Sgt. Craig Blanchard.
A blog linked to a Twitter account under the name, Tim Ouellette, describes the author as a "technology teacher" who started the 2011-12 school year at an elementary school.
The author writes that he did his practicum in a Grade 4 class at A.E. Perry in Kamloops.
Ouellette, currently on bail, is restricted from being near or in the company of children under the age of 14. Police have also restricted his access to the Internet or Internet-capable devices, the RCMP said.