Former B.C. school counsellor handed lifetime teaching ban following child pornography conviction

A former B.C. high school counsellor has been handed a lifetime ban from teaching after being convicted of possessing child pornography. 

The consent resolution agreement posted by the B.C. Teacher Regulation Branch says Joseph Scott William McLeod worked at a school in the West Vancouver School District.

His home was searched in January 2021 as part of an investigation into "suspected child pornography offences," the agreement says. The school district suspended McLeod and later terminated his employment.

In a statement to CBC News, the North Vancouver RCMP confirmed it conducted an investigation and charges were forwarded as a result.

McLeod pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing child pornography in August 2022, the branch said. In December 2023, he was sentenced to one year in jail, followed by two years of probation. 

The agreement says McLeod has appealed a February 2024 order to register as a sex offender for 20 years. 

The B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation and McLeod have agreed that he will never apply for any provincial K-12 teaching authorization in the future.

The commissioner of the teacher regulation branch determined that a lifetime ban was appropriate given McLeod's behaviour was "on the serious end of the spectrum" and he "failed to act ethically and undermined the credibility of the teaching profession by violating laws that protect minors from sexual exploitation."

The agreement also says McLeod agrees to not make any statement "which contradicts, disputes or calls into question" the deal's terms and the admissions made in the case.