A former substitute teacher from Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) who previously admitted guilt to offenses involving child sexual abuse images and inappropriate touching of a primary school student has now confessed to another instance of inappropriate touching at a different elementary school. Matthew Craswell faced initial charges of possessing and distributing child pornography in the summer of 2024. Subsequently, he pleaded guilty in April in connection to those charges and for sexually touching a student at Glen Stewart Primary School in Stratford in 2024, a revelation that emerged during an RCMP investigation following the initial child pornography charges.
The incident at Glen Stewart was not reported to authorities at the time, allowing Craswell to continue teaching. Following his first admission of guilt, details emerged about a similar incident at West Kent Elementary in Charlottetown in 2023. Charges related to that incident were eventually laid in the summer of 2025, leading to Craswell pleading guilty to sexual interference for touching a minor under 16.
According to an official statement, Craswell inappropriately touched a female student during a game at West Kent Elementary in 2023. The student reported the incident to a parent, who then alerted school officials. Despite complaints from two other students’ parents in the same class, the incidents were not reported to the police at that time.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Craswell engaged in online discussions about child pornography and intimate relationships with children. He described in messages how he touched the student at West Kent, shared non-pornographic images of her, and two other children. The parent of the child declined to speak with authorities initially but changed their stance after Craswell’s guilty plea in the Glen Stewart case.
The Public Schools Branch later confirmed that the two incidents involving Craswell were linked only after his arrest on the child pornography charges. Despite mandatory reporting requirements, neither the police nor Child Protection Services were informed of the suspected abuse cases, as stipulated by the Child Sex Abuse Protocol in P.E.I.
Efforts have been made to enhance reporting systems and reference checks within the education sector. A third-party review by former P.E.I. chief justice David Jenkins is underway to assess safety incident handling and how Craswell continued teaching. Craswell is currently in custody and is set to undergo a sexual deviancy assessment in relation to his previous guilty pleas.