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A former Vancouver band teacher has been banned from teaching for life after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a student.
Robert Kyle Ledingham will not be allowed to reapply for a teaching certificate in B.C. after pleading guilty to one count of sexual assault in May 2024, according to a consent agreement from the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
The regulator says Ledingham was a certified teacher from May 2008. He was initially charged with two counts of sexual exploitation and one count of sexual assault in September 2020.
According to the agreement, the allegations involved a student who was volunteering at a high school within the Vancouver School District, where Ledingham taught high school band, between April and June 2019.
The student cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban. They were enrolled at a different high school from the one where Ledingham taught.
In May 2024, the band teacher pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault. The remaining charges were stayed, according to the agreement.
He was given a conditional sentence order of 15 months — with one of the conditions being that he not seek employment in any position that involves authority over a person under 18.
Ledingham was subsequently fired by the Vancouver School District in November 2024.
In the consent agreement, the former band teacher agreed that his conduct constituted professional misconduct, and he will not be allowed to apply for a teaching certificate for life.
