A former Delta high school teacher has received a lifetime ban from teaching as a result of a Surrey Creep Catchers sting in 2017.
In a (June 22), B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation Howard Kushner cancelled Simon William Isbistersa国际传媒檚 certificate of qualification under sections 53 and 64(e) of the Teachers Act, and Isbister agreed never to teach in the kindergarten to Grade 12 system or at an independent school.
The commissionersa国际传媒檚 decision stems from an incident that occurred over the course of a week in late-November 2017.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Isbister posted in the sa国际传媒淐asual Encounterssa国际传媒� section of Craigslist on Nov. 20 that he looking for someone interested in meeting with him and another person, and included a photograph of himself and this other person.
That same day he responded to an ad posted by someone using the name sa国际传媒淟o Lo,sa国际传媒� who purported to be an 18-year-old female. sa国际传媒淟o Losa国际传媒� later replied saying her name was Sierra and she was sa国际传媒渢urning 13,sa国际传媒� and attached a photo of the bottom half of a young girlsa国际传媒檚 face showing her tongue with a stud piercing.
Isbister replied he thought 13 was sa国际传媒渧ery youngsa国际传媒� and he was sa国际传媒渘ot sure how I feel about that.sa国际传媒�
Sierra responded, sa国际传媒淟ol. No worries. Isa国际传媒檓 mature. And attracted to older guys.sa国际传媒� Isbister then asked if Sierra had sa国际传媒減layed with many older guys,sa国际传媒� to which she replied sa国际传媒渁 couple.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淟ucky them!sa国际传媒� Isbister replied.
He went on to ask her more about these encounters and her living arrangements.
Isbister wrote he was curious to meet her but nervous as he could sa国际传媒済et into a lot of trouble for meeting a girl so young.sa国际传媒� Sierra said she was nervous too and promised to never tell anyone. Isbister then asked for her phone number.
The two exchanged a series of text messages over the next several days. On Nov. 23, Sierra asked if the other person in Isbistersa国际传媒檚 photo knew about the proposed date and Sierrasa国际传媒檚 age. Isbister replied, sa国际传媒淣o, not entirely.sa国际传媒�
On Nov. 25, Isbister made plans to meet Sierra at a Tim Hortonsa国际传媒檚 in Surrey two days later.
Isbister arrived at the Tim Hortonsa国际传媒檚 at around 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 27 and waited in his car. Sierra texted him to say she was nearly there and asked him to buy her a hot chocolate so she would be able to identify him.
At nearly 11 p.m., as Isbister was ordering and paying for hot chocolate, a man from Surrey Creep Catchers came in and called sa国际传媒淪imon! Simon! Whatsa国际传媒檚 up?sa国际传媒� while video recording the interaction.
When the man asked Isbister if he knew who the man was, Isbister replied, sa国际传媒淚 can guess.sa国际传媒�
The exchange between the two lasted about 15 minutes. Isbister told the man he came to meet Sierra because he was worried about her, and acknowledged that Sierrasa国际传媒檚 profile stated she was 18 but that she had told him she was 12.
Surrey Creep Catchers posted video of the encounter online under the title sa国际传媒淪imonsa国际传媒� on Nov. 28, 2017.
An anonymous caller brought the video to the attention of the Delta School District on Aug. 22, 2018. The Ministry of Education was told of the video by an anonymous caller on Aug. 23.
The district suspended Isbister on Aug. 27, and he resigned from his job on Sept. 21.
The commissioner considered the matter on Oct. 13, 2020 and proposed Isbister sign a consent resolution agreement. That agreement was signed by Isbister and the commissioner on June 3 and 4, 2021.
In the consent resolution agreement, the commissioner called Isbistersa国际传媒檚 actions sa国际传媒渧ery serious misconduct that undermines the public confidence in the education system,sa国际传媒� noting his conduct spanned several days and showed a pattern of persistence in meeting with Sierra, and that he was aware the entire time that her could sa国际传媒済et into a lot of trouble.sa国际传媒�
The decision did not specify which high school Isbister had been employed at when the events in question occurred.
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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