A retired teacher and principal with the Thames Valley District school board is charged in an alleged historical sexual assault.
Murray MacDonald, 67, is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday in London on a sexual assault charge.
MacDonald is alleged to have sexually assaulted the complainant, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, between September 1985 and June 30, 1986, according to court documents.
At the time of the alleged offence, MacDonald was a teacher at Central secondary school in London, where he coached the swim team. He later made the switch to administration and served as principal of Medway secondary school in Arva and Strathroy District Collegiate Institute.
MacDonald was arrested Feb. 21 and released on an undertaking – a document created by either a court or police that places the charged person under certain conditions – that prohibits him from contacting or going near the complainant. He must also alert police within 24 hours of an address change, the documents say.
Lawyer Lakin Afolabi, who is representing MacDonald, denied the allegation against his client and vowed to mount a rigorous defence in court.
A TVDSB spokesperson said MacDonald is no longer a board employee and isn’t on the retired administrator list for supply work.
MacDonald’s licence with the Ontario College of Teachers, issued in 1982, has been inactive since 2017, according to the provincial regulator.
The college hasn’t suspended MacDonald’s licence, but it has placed a notation about the sexual assault charge on its website.
MacDonald has bachelor’s degrees in science and education and a master’s degree in education from Western University, the college says. He completed the principal’s qualification in 1997.