A London elementary school teacher accused of hiding a camera in a school change room, has been fired by the Thames Valley District School Board.
Teacher Jamie Gardiner, 37, was dismissed from his position on Wednesday following a board investigation into the incident that occurred at Ashley Oaks Public School.
On March 11, London police were called to the school after a camera was found inside a backpack that had been left in a change room.
Gardiner is also facing criminal charges in relation to the incident, including 17 counts of voyeurism, one count of making child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.
Laura Elliott, the director of education with the Thames Valley District School Board, says the board made the decision to remove Gardiner from his position based on internal evidence gathered during their investigation, which was independent from the criminal charges.
"Our board and senior administration felt that this was such an egregious act.. and it was something that we felt we needed to do to protect our staff," she says.
A total of 20 female victims have been identified. Of those 20, eight are staff members at the Thames Valley District School Board and seven are adult co-op students from other schools. Four have yet to be identified and police say one teenage student under the age of 18 was filmed.
"This was a former colleague at the school so I think it took the staff by surprise," says Elliott.
Police say the recordings date back to as early as 2011.
Elliott says the board's decision to fire Gardiner is final, regardless of the outcome of his criminal trial.
- With files from Ashton Patis
