Ottawa teacher charged with sexual assault and sexual harassment

An Ottawa teacher faces four charges in an investigation into alleged sexual assault of a boy under the age of 18, police said.

On Friday, 37-year-old Rayon Finnikin was charged with sexual assault, voyeurism, sexual exploitation and telecommunications with a person under 18 years of age.

The alleged assaults began in 2019 and occurred in programs and schools in Ottawa, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said in a press release Friday evening.

Investigators believe there may be more victims, OPS said.

Both of Ottawa’s English-speaking school boards say Finnikin worked for them.

In a statement to CBC, the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) said he worked as a substitute teacher at Sacred Heart High School last year.

The OCSB said police informed the board of the charges against Finnikin on Friday, the same day.

“At this time, we have not received any information from OPS indicating that OCSB students were affected,” Sharlene Hunter, the board’s communications manager, wrote in an email to CBC.

The OCSB is “fully prepared” to offer students and their families the “necessary resources and support,” Hunter wrote, if the police investigation reveals that OCSB students were affected.

“These are serious allegations,” says OCDSB

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) told CBC that Finnikin had also worked there as a substitute teacher, but did not specify which schools were involved.

The OCDSB also did not say when it was first informed of Finnikin’s allegations.

The board will “fully cooperate” with the police investigation, OCDSB communications officer Darcy Knoll wrote in an emailed statement to CBC.

“These are serious allegations,” wrote Knoll.

The board is also investigating the allegations internally “in order to determine further measures from an employment law perspective,” he added.

“The OCDSB has prevented (Finnikin) from accepting further assignments while the investigation is ongoing,” Knoll wrote.

According to OPS, Finnikin appeared in court on Saturday. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police’s Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit.