A London principal charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation was not present as his case came before the courts on Monday.
The charges laid against Michael Deeb last month involve a female student during the 2000-2001 school year. The 49-year-old, on leave from his principal position at H.B. Beal Secondary School, resigned from the London Police Services Board after the charges came to light.
During Monday's appearance at the London courthouse, a publication ban was placed on the name of Deeb's accuser and any information that could identify her. Deeb was not in the courtroom. His lawyer, Gord Cudmore, appeared on his behalf and asked that the case be put over for three weeks as he awaits disclosure from the Crown.
The case is scheduled to return to court on May 28.
Allegations against Deeb first surfaced on social media in December, when local poet and Thames Valley District School Board teacher Najwa Zebian accused him of harassment and abuse of power. She stated in a Facebook post that Deeb abused his powerful position when she was launching her teaching career, pursued a personal relationship with her, and borrowed money from her. The timeline of the alleged harassment is unclear but appears to date back to 2013.
In that same lengthy post, Zebian also admitted to “developing a strong emotional attachment and dependency” of Deeb over time, even handwriting him a “deeply emotional” letter that she now feels shame over.
Deeb has denied those allegations against him.
The results of an external review into Zebian’s allegations against Deeb conducted by the TVDSB were not made public, but both continued to work for the board.
The charges against Deeb are unrelated to Zebian's allegations.
