Photo: Colin Dacre
UPDATE 6:45 p.m.
A Kelowna piano teacher accused of sexually abusing an underage student lost his teaching job at the local school district years earlier over voyeurism allegations involving a minor.
On Wednesday, police announced that Neil Nein-Nein Wong, 54, was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference over allegations that he sexually assaulted a student girl over a period of eight months in 2021.
Police say Wong offered private piano lessons that he taught outside his home, and given his access to children, police are concerned there may be more victims.
The parents would contact him through an email address and then by phone to arrange piano lessons, knowing nothing of his past. The mother of one of Wong’s former piano students told Castanet on Wednesday that she had no idea about his earlier accusation of voyeurism.
Court records show that Wong was indicted in 2013 on one count of voyeurism involving a minor. In 2014, he received an 18-month conditional discharge.
A conditional release means that a defendant avoids a permanent criminal conviction and record by meeting conditions of probation set by a judge for a period of time, in Wong’s case, 18 months.
Details of the voyeurism case are covered by a publication ban to protect the identity of the female victim, who was 15 at the time.
An unnamed consent resolution summary from the BC Teachers Regulation Commissioner matching the time frame and case details related to Wong’s voyeurism charge reveals prior troubling allegations.
In 2012, he used a school-provided laptop on two occasions to access sexually explicit material during school hours while working. She had also previously received a “letter of instructions” after hugging students in a way that made them feel uncomfortable.
The teacher regulation file says Wong was suspended from the school district in 2013 and formally resigned from his job in 2015. In 2016, his teaching certificate was cancelled.
Archived 2013 articles in the Kelowna Capital News and Daily Courier named him a music teacher at Kelowna High School at the time.
A former Kelowna high school student who was in Wong’s band class at the time the voyeurism allegations were made told Castanet on Wednesday that “we weren’t allowed to talk about it at school.”
“And every time parents called the school to ask what was going on, we had a substitute teacher come right away, they didn’t tell them anything. They said, ‘He’s just taking a little leave.'”
“And then once he left, we were never given the information about what was done with him. I know that, for me, it was a stressful time,” she said, explaining that the accusations created a gap in the student body between those who they believed the accusers and those who did not.
The former student said the news of the new charges Wong is facing made her very angry.
Last month, CTV News reported on a different teacher who was expelled for a decade from the school system for an inappropriate relationship with the student. That former teacher then advertised his services as a private tutor.
The provincial government told CTV that it has no authority over private tutors and encouraged parents to do their homework.
“We encourage anyone looking to hire a tutor to carefully review their employment history, including the suspension of teaching certificates,” an Education Ministry spokesman said.
But in Wong’s case, because the conditional discharge allowed no criminal record and his name is expunged from the files of the BC Commissioner of Teacher Regulation, it’s unclear how a parent would have a way of knowing his past.
The recent charges against Wong have not been proven in court. She will appear in court on June 16.
ORIGINALS: 12 noon.
A Kelowna piano teacher has been charged with child sex crimes and police believe there may be additional victims.
Neil Nein-Nein Wong, 54, was charged last month with sexual assault and sexual interference over allegations that he sexually assaulted a student boy over an eight-month period in 2021.
RCMP says its child abuse unit in Kelowna opened an investigation into the claims on February 17, 2022. The incidents are alleged to have occurred when the boy was taking piano lessons at the teacher’s home.
Wong was arrested the next day and released on the condition that he have no contact with anyone under the age of 16. On March 3, 2022, the teacher appeared in court to change the conditions of release.
Crown prosecutors approved charges against Wong on April 22, 2022. He is now expected to appear in court on June 16.
RCMP believes the piano teacher’s access to the youngsters means there may be additional victims or people with more information.
Police say Wong offered private piano lessons that he taught outside his home. Parents would contact you through an email address and then by phone to arrange the lessons. Investigators have discovered that Wong taught several students outside of his home and also taught online. The total number of students is unknown at this time.
It appears that Wong was previously a licensed public school teacher in the Central Okanagan. Archived 2013 articles in the Kelowna Capital News and Daily Courier named him a music teacher at Kelowna High School.
Online court records show that the BC Teacher Regulation Commissioner was in court in August 2015 seeking a transcript of a previous court proceeding and a request by Wong to reduce the term of a probation order.
The Commissioner for Teacher Regulation has no disciplinary notices related to Wong in its database, although it generally retracts the names of teachers involved in sexual offenses to protect the students involved.
“We ask families who have received piano lessons from Neil Wong to contact the Kelowna RCMP Child Abuse Unit at 778-940-2240 and quote file number 2022-9344,” states Cpl. Tim Russell of the Vulnerable Persons Unit.
“The Kelowna RCMP Child Abuse Unit is an integrated partner in the Child Advocacy Center that coordinates multifaceted investigations and is dedicated to supporting children and families in our community.”
Reference-www.castanet.net