The Abbotsford school district has issued a statement to clarify that a man charged last week with child pornography offences is not a local teacher who has the same name.
Brian Glen Bell, 39, was charged on Tuesday, Aug. 26 with possession and distribution of child pornography, as well as obstruction of justice.
On Sept. 1, the school district posted a statement on its Facebook page, clarifying that this is not the same Brian Bell who is a local teacher.
"Our employee Brian Bell is a valued teacher at his school and in our district. His school's principal notes he is a solid individual with very high integrity," said school district superintendent Kevin Godden in the statement.
"It is extremely unfortunate that due to a very similar name to the individual charged, he had been misidentified as that person ... It is our sincere hope that this clarification will help end the inaccurate identification, gossip and comments on social media about our employee."
Meanwhile, the man charged with the offences is next due to appear Sept. 25 in Abbotsford provincial court.