SUDBURY - A former Sudbury teacher who pleaded guilty to molesting a student in the late 1970s has had his teacher’s licence stripped by the Ontario College of Teachers.
On Feb. 25, Marcel Lemieux, who is listed by the Ontario College of Teachers as being associated with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, was found guilty of professional misconduct and reprimanded by the professional body.
His Certificate of Qualification and Registration was also revoked.
The Ontario College of Teachers said Lemieux had held an Ontario Teacher’s Certificate or a Certificate of Qualification and Registration continuously since 1972. He has been listed as “inactive/non-practising” by the Ontario College of Teachers since 2017.
His file with the professional body said he first completed a professional education program at the Sudbury Teachers’ College in 1972, and earned his BA from Laurentian University in 1979 and his Bachelor of Education, also from Laurentian University, in 1980.
A notice of hearing on the Ontario College of Teachers’ website said between Sept. 1, 1978, and Sept. 1, 1979, Lemieux “fondled the genitals” of a male student in a Sudbury Catholic board elementary school “in class at the school, on two separate occasions.”
The document alleged that Lemieux had “committed acts that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.”
Lemieux was charged in 2021 and pleaded guilty in 2023 to indecent assault related to the 1970s incidents. He was issued a six-month conditional sentence, followed by 18 months’ probation.
Local media reports also say he was also sentenced to nine years in jail in 1981 for separate charges of indecent assault of a male student.
Sudbury.com has reached out to the Sudbury Catholic board, asking when Lemieux last worked for the board as a teacher. Media reports from his 2023 sentencing say Lemieux worked as a teacher for 10 years and then for the Ministry of Education.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.