A professor from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto was recently charged with seven counts of child exploitation.
According to news releases from the Toronto Police Service, professor Benjamin Levin , 61, was arrested July 8, 2013, when members of the sex crimes unit executed a search warrant at a residence in Lawrence Avenue West/Avenue Road area.
He was charged with possessing, distributing, and making child pornography, as well as agreeing to or arranging for a sexual offence against a child under 16. He was released on bail set at $100,000 July 10, 2013.
The investigation into his arrest went as far as England and New Zealand, according to the police news release.
Levin, a high profile Liberal within Premier Kathleen Wynne’s transition team, was the former deputy minister of education for former premier Dalton McGuinty.
He served as an advisor to Wynne from January to June 2012, and was the deputy minister of advanced education and deputy minister of education, training and youth for Manitoba between 1999 and 2002.
“I was shocked to hear about these charges through the news on Monday. Insidious crimes like these are absolutely terrifying,” Wynne said in a statement.
The University of Toronto also issued a statement acknowledging the charges against the professor.
“Recently, charges were laid against Professor Benjamin Levin of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). The charges against Professor Levin are extremely serious. The University understands that an individual is innocent until proven guilty. In this case the gravity of the charges in relation to the mission of OISE is such that Professor Levin has ceased all University activities at this time.”
Sara Urbina, a second-year international relations student at U of T said she was shocked to hear the allegations.
“In the future, if he is allowed to teach again, I would probably look for a way so that I do not have to take a course with him. I would feel a bit uncomfortable if I had to,” Urbina said.
Levin has won several awards for his work in education, including the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Service to Public Administration in Manitoba in 2004, and more recently the $40,000 Max Bell Foundation grant for his work on building kindergarten to grade 12 schools that learn and grow with their communities.
He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa in 2011 from the Faculty of Education.
The report also states that police believe there may be victims who have not come forward.
Levin is set to appear in court August 8.
