Charges against Halifax teacher for sexual assault dropped

Charges against a Halifax-area teacher accused of sexually assaulting a high school teenager three years ago have been dropped after he agreed to a peace bond prohibiting him from having any contact with the accuser.

Matthew Douglas Moriarty, 42, made a brief appearance in provincial court in Dartmouth, NS, on Thursday on charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation.

After the trial, neither the defense nor the prosecutors declined to explain in detail why the case would not go to trial.

“I would say it’s a kind of satisfaction for my client,” said defense attorney Ron Pizzo outside the courtroom. “Everyone can move on with their lives, there are no criminal records. These cases are very devastating.”

Moriarty still faces voyeurism charges for secretly watching and filming five women and girls in a restroom at the Abenaki Aquatic Club in Dartmouth last year. He is due to go on trial on that charge in July.

Moriarty, a language arts teacher at Woodlawn High School, was placed on leave last summer when Halifax Regional Police announced the charges.

Cheryl Schurman, the prosecutor in the Moriarty case, said in an interview that it is the prosecutor’s ethical duty to consider whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction and that if she fails to meet that duty, she has an obligation not to prosecute the case.

She said the decision in Moriarty’s case that there was no realistic prospect of conviction was not made “lightly”.

Moriarty’s peace bond is valid for 12 months, during which time he is prohibited from contacting the complainant except through a lawyer and must stay at least 50 metres from her home, school and workplace.

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