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Preliminary inquiry set in child porn case involving Lethbridge teacher

Aug 15, 2017 | 5:34 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A preliminary inquiry has been scheduled for a Lethbridge school teacher who is facing various child pornography charges.

A lawyer appearing for Dwayne Schnell in Lethbridge Provincial Court Tuesday (Aug. 15) morning, to set a date of Oct. 17 for the prelim. The hearing will determine if there is enough evidence for the matter to proceed to trial.

Should that happen, the defence also entered an election of trial by judge and jury.

Schnell – who teaches grades seven to twelve at Lethbridge’s French language school, Ecole La Verendrye – was arrested Feb. 22 and charged with possessing, accessing and distributing child pornography.

The charges stem from an investigation that started in January, after the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) team – a division of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) – received a referral from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in late December. Concerns centred around a social media user who was allegedly uploading sexually explicit images of children.

Schnell is currently out on $3,000 no-cash bail (money will only be taken if he breaches his release conditions), and living with his parents in Calgary. He is under a number of release conditions, including that he have no contact with children under the age of 16 or access to the internet — with limited exceptions for both.

Officials with Ecole La Verendrye have also noted that he will not be teaching at the school.