Lawsuit filed against two Calgary teachers who “worked together” to sexually abuse students

A former Calgary teacher accused of sexually assaulting middle school students received help from a guidance counselor – already convicted of sexually assaulting children – with the two “providing protection” to each other, lawyers claim on the eve of filing a lawsuit against the two men and the Calgary Board of Education.

Michael Gregory died by suicide in 2021, five days after he was charged with 17 counts of sexual assault and sexual exploitation involving six girls. They were students at John Ware Junior High, where Gregory taught between 1986 and 2006.

In 2021, a $40 million lawsuit was filed against the CBE and Gregory’s estate. 16 alleged victims are named as plaintiffs.

This lawsuit seeks compensation for the sexual and emotional abuse suffered by the victims. It was claimed that middle school staff – including a deputy headteacher – were well aware of his abusive behaviour.

“A malicious decision”

Last year, a new law firm, HMC Lawyers LLP, took on the case in 2021. At a press conference on Monday, lawyer David Corrigan said the CBE had abruptly “aborted” the mediation just days before it began on March 12.

After hopes of a settlement were dashed, Corrigan and his co-counsel Meagan Potier said their clients were devastated. They called the CBE’s move a “bad faith decision”.

HMC says it will ask the court to drop the class action lawsuit and instead pursue a mass tort lawsuit.

That means that instead of a representative plaintiff pursuing the claim on behalf of other class members, mass tort litigation would allow plaintiffs to pursue their cases individually, with a judge assessing what compensation a victim is entitled to on a case-by-case basis.

Attorneys Meagan Potier (left) and David Corrigan (right) represent 16 plaintiffs suing the Calgary Board of Education. The plaintiffs say they were victimized by teachers between 1988 and 2004. (Bob Sumner)

A revised statement of claim will be filed Tuesday, including naming a second John Ware teacher and former advisory board member as a defendant.

This teacher had previously admitted to sexually abusing students at another school.

CBC News is not naming the second teacher because the updated statement of claim has not yet been filed and he has not been criminally charged in connection with the allegations from his time at John Ware.

“We covered each other”

Potier says the law firm has interviewed witnesses who will testify that Gregory and the second teacher “worked together to support each other in abusing children” and that the two men “supported each other with parents and teachers.”

The lawyers say they have a client who claims he was bullied by the second teacher in seventh grade. According to Corrigan, this man is considering whether to contact the police.

Corrigan says his law firm investigation uncovered witness evidence about at least seven reports of abuse made to teachers, principals and guidance counselors at John Ware School.

“So we know that actually multiple teachers knew what was going on, multiple administrators knew what was going on, and that no steps were ever taken to correct this situation,” Corrigan said.

“It’s quite a story and it has caused quite a bit of damage to our customers.”

“predator behavior”

Gregory’s “predatory behavior” allegedly included taking students to his home and giving them money, concert tickets, jewelry, mixtapes, alcohol and drugs.

In a written statement on Monday, the CBE called the case a “complicated legal matter” with “multiple factors that may affect the timeline.”

The board acknowledged that the delay “could be difficult for plaintiffs” but said it was “committed to moving forward with this insurer-led process.”

“The CBE remains deeply disturbed by these allegations,” the school board’s statement said.

But Corrigan says the CBE continues to shy away from its responsibilities to former students, and after nine months of working on a settlement, he hopes to arrange a liability claim trial for mid-2025.

“They took no responsibility whatsoever,” Corrigan said.

“We don’t know what the lives of these 16 people would have been like if they hadn’t met these two idiots.”