Member of Ontario premier’s transition team faces child porn charges
Posted July 8, 2013 1:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A former deputy education minister who was a member of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s transition team faces child porn charges.
Benjamin Levin, 61, who is a professor at University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), was charged Monday after a search warrant was executed at a home in the Lawrence Avenue West and Avenue Road area, police say.
Levin faces making child porn, counselling to commit an indictable offence and two counts of distributing child pornography. He was also charged with arrangement of a sexual offence against a child under 16.
The University of Toronto released a statement Monday saying it was aware of the charges and would help police in their investigation.
“The University takes these charges seriously and is cooperating fully with the police investigation in this matter. Until more information becomes available through the criminal process, the University can have no further comment.”
Wynne’s press secretary Zita Astravas confirmed with CityNews that Levin was a member of the premier’s transition team, which met intermittently since January and held its final meeting on June 12. But she declined to comment on the charges.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on matters that are under police investigation or where charges have been laid and any questions regarding police investigation or the laying of charges should be referred to the police,” she said in an email.
Levin, who was deputy minister of education under former premier Dalton McGuinty from late 2004 to early 2007, had a bail hearing delayed until Wednesday.
Education Minister Liz Sandals said in a release Levin’s only involvement with her ministry was on contract research projects and guest speaking roles through his position as an OISE professor.
That work has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, she said.
She referred all other questions to police.
Levin also served as Manitoba’s deputy minister of advanced education and deputy minister of education, training and youth between 1999 and 2002.
Toronto police say their online child exploitation investigation was assisted by police in London, Ont., and the Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand.
According to Levin’s resume, he had given numerous presentations and seminars in New Zealand.
With files from The Canadian Press
