A former Delta elementary school teacher will serve an 18-month conditional sentence for possession of child pornography.
Surrey resident Elazar Reshef, 53, was sentenced in Surrey provincial court on Friday, Feb. 5. In an earlier court appearance late last year he pled guilty to the charge of possession of child pornography. Crown counsel ordered a stay of proceedings on two counts of making or publishing child pornography.
Information about the police investigation came to the public’s attention in July, 2020.
According to a news release from RCMP at the time, the investigation began in March 2019, as a result of a notification received from an electronic service provider, which alleged that an account user had child pornography in their possession.
Surrey RCMP ICE immediately launched an investigation. Following an extensive review and forensic analysis of the evidence, charges were approved by the BC Prosecution Services and information sworn against Reshef on July 2.
“Reshef has been in direct contact with children during his work as a teacher in the Delta School District. As a result, the Surrey RCMP are releasing this information in the interest of public safety and to further the police investigation,” said RCMP in the July 2020 news release.
The Delta School District also issued a statement to the Optimist at the time the charges were laid against Reshef.
“In July 2019, upon hearing that Mr. Reshef was being investigated by the police we took immediate action to remove him from any interactions with students within the school district,” said the Delta School District statement. “This individual has not been at work since July 2019 and has not been permitted on Delta School District property since that time.”
