Edmonton drama teacher accused of committing sexual offences against student

Dylan Rosychuk, a drama teacher at Hilwie Hamdon School in Edmonton, has been charged with child luring and making child sexual abuse materials.

An Edmonton teacher is facing multiple charges for sexual offences against a student.

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Drama teacher Dylan Rosychuk was arrested by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team on Friday.

The 32-year-old was charged with child luring, making sexually explicit materials available to a child, and making, possessing, and transmitting child sexual abuse materials.

Police say the charges relate to offences allegedly committed against one of Rosychuk’s students at Hilwie Hamdon School, which is a kindergarten-to-Grade 9 school in northwest Edmonton.

Investigators say Rosychuk engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a student for two years.

The investigation began earlier this month. Police say at this time it is not known if any other students were impacted.

“We don’t have any information that there are any other students involved, but like any investigation we have, parents need to be talking to their kids,” Staff Sgt. Allison Church told reporters on Wednesday.

“If there is anything that stands out, if there is anything that kind of raises the hair on the back of your neck, those parents should explore that with their children.”

According to Church the incidents currently under investigation all happened online.

“It was all conducted to our knowledge online,” she said.

“When we look at those charges, child luring, making explicit material available to a child, we’re looking at online.”

Church says it’s too early in the investigation for police to comment on what platforms Rosychuk is alleged to have used or what usernames he might have been using.

“The investigation is still quite new,” she said. “It did come into the Edmonton Police Service on Dec. 3 and we were made aware of it on Dec. 4. He was arrested and charged on Dec. 5, so there are still a lot of investigative steps that need to happen.”

Rosychuk has been released on a number of court ordered conditions and will appear in court on Dec. 19.

Edmonton Public Schools released a statement on Wednesday in response to Rosychuk’s arrest.

“The safety and well-being of students is at the core of our commitment as a school division; it’s a responsibility we take extremely seriously. To support students and staff, we have activated the Division’s Critical Incident Support Services (CISS) team. The CISS team is a group of trained social workers and psychologists who support schools after incidents that affect the school community.

“The teacher is not working in any division schools or buildings. At this time, we do not have additional details to share.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson