Julie Ireton
speaker
251 appearances
10 recordings
1 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard Jan 2025
Julie Ireton’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
I'm like, where the hell were all the adults? Jeannie now teaches social studies and English, but before she left music, she had her own chance encounter with the former music teacher. Another striking parallel with Anne Marie. In October 1997, Jeannie set off on a California junket. She was 34. She'd only been teaching for two years. It was a glorious day. A tour for music teachers at Disney.
They would spend time in Hollywood.
Her Disney tour was over before it even started. She stayed with friends in the area before it was time to leave.
At that point, he had moved schools seven times. Jeannie doesn't think it was an accident. She ran into him. Yep. It was meant to happen. The stars had aligned in Los Angeles.
And so I phoned the Delta police. Initially, she contacted the police in Delta, British Columbia. They referred her to a division in the Toronto area close to her former high school. Jeannie had an interview with an officer.
Annemarie and I know exactly the kind of room she's referring to. It's similar to Annemarie's interview with the police. But as far as these women know, the police forces never connected their allegations against the same former music teacher. Jeannie shares her police file with me. It includes a video of that interview with the officer. It's from almost 25 years ago.
The audio is old, the quality isn't great, but it's definitely Jeannie telling her story. She launches right in, detailing her concerns about other girls who may have been abused.
Jeannie revealed what happened in the back of the teacher's little green Dodge. Then she told the officer about the 56 notches on the desk in her garage.
Genie talks about the grooming. She mentions the other teen students she suspects also had sex with him.
I notice a typed note on Jeannie's police report. It says, quote, unquote. No injuries. A police investigation got underway in 1998. The files reveal the detectives spoke to school board officials.
A detective visited Jeannie's former school, spoke to a teacher who said she did witness a questionable relationship between a student and the accused music teacher.
It looks like in 1998, the police initially took Jeannie's allegations seriously. A brief was presented to the Crown Attorney's Office to see if there was reasonable prospect for a conviction. The police report notes, "...the victim relayed various incidents of highly inappropriate but not necessarily criminal behavior."
At the time when Jeannie reported in the late 1990s, Walker was still teaching. So police had an obligation, a duty to contact the school board and the local Children's Aid Society. But the document notes further evidence will be required in order for either agency to take action. The music teacher remained in the classroom. No charges were laid. Nothing was done. They said that
That old rape law, the crime that offended a girl's father, not the girl, it has been changed. But it's still shocking it applied to what happened to Jeannie in the early 1980s.
And just like in Anne-Marie's case, no one discussed other potential charges. At least they don't discuss it with the alleged victim. Again, I think of the men, the survivors in the last season of the band played on. In that case, boys were propositioned, touched over their clothes by a teacher. That was also in the 1970s and 80s. A man was convicted for those crimes.
Why were authorities not listening to this woman? Why was he still in the classroom? Jeannie's complaint to police hadn't changed anything. And I think of that note on the file, no injuries. There was seemingly no impact on this girl. But Jeannie hadn't exhausted all avenues.
She notified the Ontario College of Teachers, the professional regulator and licensing body for teachers. Files show the college and police were communicating and sharing information. As a teacher herself, Jeannie was fairly sure the regulator could not ignore her claims.
It was a slow process. Years went by and he kept teaching. There were a number of people assigned to my case over the couple of years. Jeanne sent investigators photos of the teacher drinking with students, hugging them. High school friends provided affidavits detailing what they knew. One woman, an old friend, had a diary from back in the 1980s. It provided times.
and a teenage perspective on what was happening between kids and the teacher. Jeannie's desk with its 56 notches was still in her garage. Then when that happened, yeah, I peeled off the plastic and there it was. And so I took pictures. That specific number, 56, would be repeated in the regulator's official decision and in media reports that followed.
More than three years after Jeannie initially got in touch with the regulator, a hearing was held in Toronto. I was not at that hearing. Jeannie sent the College of Teachers a victim impact statement. It was read into evidence. She reads an excerpt.
Showing 101–120 of 251 · page 6 of 13
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