Former North Van teacher in court for sex offenses

This week, the trial of a former North Vancouver elementary school teacher began in a North Vancouver court. He is accused of sexual offenses against a dozen 11- and 12-year-old boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

Brian Melicke Moore, now 84, taught grade 6 at Upper Lynn Elementary in North Vancouver between 1970 and 1982.

Moore, who was in his thirties and forties at the time, was a popular teacher who was viewed by his students as “the fun teacher,” prosecutor Eleasha Sabourin said in her opening statement.

His charm and energy meant that many of his students enjoyed spending time with him on outings outside of school, Sabourin said, and that their parents trusted him.

Over the years, Moore took groups of boys on trips to the Simon Fraser University swimming pool, where he insisted they remove their swimsuits when they showered after swimming with him, Sabourin said. He also took groups of boys water skiing and insisted the boys remove their swimsuits under the wetsuit they were wearing, she said.

On weekend skiing trips inland in the winter and camping and water skiing trips in the summer, Moore took the boys to places where he was alone with them in a hotel or tent, with no other adults nearby, Sabourin said.

Moore frequently created situations where he would lie in bed next to a boy and talk to him about sexual topics, insisting that these were normal things that he needed to educate them about, Sabourin said.

Moore created situations that allowed him to sexually touch the boys and on several occasions caused the boys to sexually touch his own body, Sabourin said.

At the same time, Moore gave the boys small gifts, such as letting them shoot air rifles or drive his car while sitting on his lap – activities that today would be called “grooming,” she said.

Moore’s popularity and the special privileges he granted the boys made it unlikely that students would report him, Sabourin said.

In addition, “the general social discourse on sexuality and sexual crimes at that time did not create an environment that led to disclosure.”

In court this week, one of Moore’s former students – now a man in his 50s – described going on trips with the teacher to water ski at Deep Cove and swim at the SFU pool. After swimming, Moore told the boys to take off their swimsuits in the showers, the man said, and Moore was naked there as well.

During a ski trip to the Apex resort in the interior, Moore brought the boys beer and Playboy magazines to their shared hotel room, the man said.

That’s exactly where Moore reached over and grabbed his genitals, the man said.

“It was some kind of out-of-body experience,” he said. “I pushed him away.”

The man said he made no further trips after that and did not speak to anyone about it until his younger brother told him two years later that he would be in Moore’s class.

The man said he warned his brother about it and told him “he likes boys.”

When his brother made comments about Moore at school, his parents received a call from the principal, after which several of his classmates told a parent what had happened.

When the parent spoke to the principal, Moore immediately resigned, he said.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Rowan asked the man why he mentioned the names of two different motels where the incidents allegedly took place.

He also questioned the man’s involvement in a class action lawsuit brought by one of the former students.

“They also hoped to get money through the class action lawsuit,” Rowan said.

“I felt like the school board had let me down,” the man said. “I was very frustrated.”

Another classmate, now also a man in his 50s, also testified this week about the trips with Moore.

During the journey inland, the witness remembered that the group was swimming completely naked in the hotel pool.

During the water skiing trips, the students also had to slip naked into a wetsuit with Moore’s help, he said.

“I remember thinking at the time that he was very close to us and would help us achieve this,” he said. “I remember feeling uncomfortable.”

The trial is scheduled to continue in court later this month before being postponed to a later date in the summer and fall.

In addition to the criminal case, one of Moore’s former students has also filed a civil class action lawsuit against him.

In addition to Moore, the North Vancouver school district is also named in the lawsuit. Teachers and school administrators at Upper Lynn Elementary School observed behavior that should have given them cause for concern. The school district also did not adequately investigate the reports received from students, parents and teachers, the lawsuit states.