School safety report commissioned after high-profile incidents in P.E.I. warns of gaps

Concern is growing over the prevalence of staff sexual misconduct at certain schools in the Maritimes. Mariah Sarrouh reports.

Warning: Graphic content.

CHARLOTTETOWN -- A long-awaited third-party review says Prince Edward Island schools are “relatively safe” when it comes to staff sexual misconduct, but flags gaps in how concerns are documented, tracked and followed up, and recommends new systems to reduce risk.

The report, released on Tuesday, was commissioned by Education and Early Years Minister Robin Croucher last spring, after a series of high-profile incidents raised concerns about student safety. Croucher says the findings should reassure families, while also underscoring where changes can be made.

“Our system is not broken,” Croucher said in an interview with CTV News. “Our system is working. Are there areas where we can improve? Absolutely.”

Former chief justice David Jenkins led the review. He acknowledges in the report “the ideal that one incident is too many,” and writes the “frequency and kind of reported events in inappropriate conduct and misconduct” are “not exceptional.”

The report identified 40 separate matters involving reports or allegations of sexual misconduct during the 2023 to 2025 period.

“Our schools are no better, no worse than many other places in the country,” Croucher said. “We strive to be the best. We want to be the best. But I think the most important message is that our schools are safe.”

Among other incidents, the report analyzes how the province’s Public Schools Branch (PSB) handled complaints at two schools involving former substitute teacher Matthew Alan Craswell, described by Jenkins as “the predator wolf in sheep’s clothing who targets vulnerability.”

Craswell pleaded guilty to sexually touching students, and his cases sparked months of concern about how schools handle complaints.

Jenkins wrote in the report that school administration handled the incidents “properly and professionally” and, based on all they knew at the time, “they did not suspect that Craswell’s acts were sexual in nature.”

He continued, “I would not find their judgment unreasonable.”

Timeline: What school officials knew, and when

In August 2024, Craswell was charged with criminal offences related to child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The review says the education system and the public learned about those charges at the same time.

The PSB then looked into Craswell’s record for any relevant incidents, according to the report. It said it found one complaint reported by a parent in May 2024 that Craswell had inappropriately touched a Grade 2 student at Glen Stewart Primary in Stratford, P.E.I. Jenkins wrote that the school responded immediately, and administrators carried out a fact-finding exercise with the parent and child, creating a report for PSB human resources.

Asked what happened, the child said, “Mr. Craswell put his hand under my shirt by accident for a minute and rubbed my belly,” the report said.

School staff did not inform police or child protection services at the time. The review explained that decision, saying administrators viewed the conduct as “inappropriate and unprofessional” but that it did “not appear to them to be sexual.”

While Craswell was blocked from the Glen Stewart substitute list, the review says “it appears true” he continued teaching at the high-school level until the end of June 2024, when his contract expired.

After the criminal charges were laid against him, the incident was viewed “in a very different light,” the review said. Staff notified police, and on Aug. 12, 2024, Craswell was charged with sexual interference - touching the body of a person under 16 for sexual purposes. His teaching licence was suspended.

Later that fall, police discovered a previous complaint about the former substitute teacher at another school - West Kent Elementary in Charlottetown - that had also not been reported to authorities.

In June 2023, three parents reported incidents involving a student-made game called “hide the ruler.” Administration spoke with five Grade 5 students and reported to PSB that three “inappropriate” things occurred, according to the review: one student described a pat-down and reach-around around the waist that made her uncomfortable; another reported Craswell holding her hands behind her back while looking for the ruler; and a third reported being picked up under the armpits.

Similarly to what happened at Glen Stewart, Craswell was removed from the substitute list, the review said. Administrators deemed at the time that “the kids were being silly” and the contact by Craswell was “inappropriate” but it was not viewed as sexual in nature or in apparent motivation.

Jenkins wrote that initial descriptions of what happened at West Kent were less explicit than accounts later provided to police. For example, one student later said Craswell “swiped up from her vagina area to the top.”

Jenkins reported that an investigating officer with Charlottetown Police Services observed that, “in the absence of knowledge that was later gained, the incident did not appear as egregious.”

On April 29, 2025, Craswell pleaded guilty to the possession, distribution and making of child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

He also pleaded guilty to the case of sexual interference involving a female elementary student at Glen Stewart.

In July 2025, another charge of sexual interference was laid against him related to the incident at West Kent. And in February of this year, he again pleaded guilty to sexual interference for the incident at that school.

Source of risks

Croucher said his top priority is ensuring educators are in the best position to identify “grooming behaviours” early on, and to clearly define the policy on how to act and prevent situations from escalating.

The report found there is “insufficient recognition” that risk can start with early boundary-crossing.

David Schult, president of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation, says it’s important to catch cases early.

“The gaps in the system are really on the safeguarding areas and implementing that in the curriculum,” he said, adding both parents and students need a voice at the table. “We really need robust frameworks to address not only adult on student harm, but student on student harm as well.”

The report added that when complaints are being handled, operational directions (e.g., the P.E.I. Sexual Abuse Protocol) are not always followed and sometimes complaints are not accurately documented. It says there is no system for memorializing and tracking incidents. It also points to under-resourcing at the Public Schools Branch, particularly in human resources service capacity.

Recommendations

A key recommendation is a province-wide tracking system for handling, documenting and tracking complaints and interventions, with a small triage team overseeing it inside the education authority.

That centralized system is on the way and should be implemented by April, Croucher said.

“We didn’t wait for this report to get to my desk,” he said.

Croucher pointed to steps already taken, including outside expertise and training from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. The minister also introduced amendments to the province’s Education Act to tighten ongoing screening in public schools, including requiring criminal record and vulnerable sector checks before someone starts work, then on a rotating basis.

Jenkins also recommended updating the substitute teacher booking system so schools can see whether a substitute has been blocked by another school, among other measures.