Update on Michael GREGORY investigation
Just over one year ago, the Calgary Police Service laid 17 sexual assault charges against former teacher Michael GREGORY, stemming from incidents that occurred several years ago.
Though GREGORY was found deceased days later, we continued our investigation to learn what happened, to support the victims that had bravely come forward with their stories and to determine if there was further criminal responsibility.
In September 2020, we received a historical complaint of a sexual assault of a John Ware Junior High School student by former teacher Michael GREGORY. The information we received at the outset of the investigation revealed that there were numerous students who were victimized by this teacher over a period of time.
As the investigation proceeded, five additional victims came forward with detailed statements alleging sexual victimization by GREGORY. These sexual assaults occurred both during school-sanctioned events and during periods where GREGORY would meet with the victims outside of school hours.
GREGORY was arrested in February 2021 and charged with 17 counts of sexual offences against the six original victims. Following the arrest and charges, we received complaints from 10 additional victims and calls from approximately 35 witnesses.
“It was important for us as an agency to continue to investigate and understand the level of abuse committed by GREGORY,” said Detective Timothy Fitzgibbon with the Sexual Assault Investigative Unit. “This is to ensure victims feel heard and examine how to work with our community partners to help prevent students from being victimized in the future.”
Throughout the course of the investigation, we were unable to locate any historical reports to police of related sexual offences allegedly committed by GREGORY. We learned that a complaint was made with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) against GREGORY on an unrelated matter, but also spoke about GREGORY’s behaviour with students. An investigation was undertaken by an ATA investigator, which subsequently identified many forms of misconduct.
Considering the information obtained, we requested assistance from the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service to conduct a review of these portions of our investigation. Our investigation concluded that through witness statements and documentary evidence gathered, ATA officials were aware of sexual conduct.
“The findings and report provided by the Crown is a privileged legal document and as such we are not able to disclose the specifics,” said Detective Fitzgibbon. “What I can say is that at this time, based on the current evidence, and the evaluation of the law, that there are no criminal charges against any person or entity forthcoming. This investigation will remain open so that should new evidence arise, further review can be completed.”
The Calgary Police Service wishes again to acknowledge the victims and witnesses who came forward to aid in this investigation, many of whom were children at the time the offences took place. We recognize that it can be difficult to share personal details of trauma even if the events took place many years ago.
There is no statute of limitation on sexual offences in Canada and we investigate all reported incidents, even if they occurred a long time ago. Anyone who believes they are a victim of sexual assault is encouraged to report it to police no matter when the incident occurred.
Case #20364970/3522