Chad Jeremy Smith enters guilty plea to sexual exploitation charge, says district

The North Vancouver School District says one of its teachers has pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual exploitation.

In August, 2015, Chad Jeremy Smith, 40, was arrestedby North Vancouver RCMP after an investigation revealed that he had allegedlyassaulted a femalestudent for more than two years, from October 2012 to December 2014.

The charge applies to authority figures accused of sexually assaulting a minor, police said at the time.

• North Vancouver teacher, Chad Smith, charged with sexual exploitation

"Withhis recent conviction of sexual exploitation, the school district will now take the steps necessary to address Mr. Smith's employment status on a permanent basis," wroteNorth Vancouver School District spokeswomanDenekaMichaudin a statement sent to CBC News.

Smith was a teacher at Argyle SecondarySchool and was suspended without pay by the districtwhen he was charged. He began teaching at the school in 2005.

"As soon as allegations came forward last summer prior to the start of this school year, the situation was taken very seriously and handled promptly," said the statement. "The North Vancouver School District worked with police and followed the School Act in terms of disciplinary action."

The victim's identity is protected by a court ordered publication ban and part of the conditions of Smith'srelease from custody was that he can't have contact with the student or her family.