Editor’s note: Court documents provided to CP24.com confirm that all charges related to this matter were stayed on June 21, 2022.
A York Region teacher is facing child pornography charges after being arrested at a high school in King City this week.
York Regional Police said its Internet Child Exploitation Team began an investigation after being alerted to child pornography images that had been uploaded to social media.
Police said they discovered that the upload traced back to a the York Region District School Board.
YRP officers went to King City Secondary School, near King Road and Dufferin Street, on Wednesday and arrested a suspect.
Police said 46-year-old Robert Aurich of King Township has been charged with possessing, distributing and accessing child pornography.
He was scheduled to make a court appearance on Thursday.
An archived staff page from the school’s website lists Aurich as a geography teacher and articles from local publications indicate he also coached a junior girls’ basketball team at the school.
The school board declined to say how long Aurich has been employed as a teacher. However he has been listed as a YRDSB secondary school teacher on the province’s annual “sunshine list” of government employees making $100,000 or more since 2017.
In a statement issued to CP24.com, the York Region District School Board said Aurich is no longer in a classroom or at the school and that the school board is cooperating with the investigation.
“While at this time, there is no reason to believe the charges involve any student at the school, we know the charges are concerning for students and their families and the school community,” the statement read. “Right now, our focus is on establishing supports for students and staff, including support through our social work and psychology teams.”
YRP said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information is being asked to contact police.
