In January of 2023, Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) officers assigned to 1 District (St. Catharines / Thorold) responded to Governor Simcoe Secondary School, located at 15 Glenview Avenue in the City of St. Catharines regarding an alleged sexual assault involving a teacher.
As information received by the District School Board of Niagara indicated a student at the school was inappropriately touched by a teacher, detectives assigned to the Sexual Assault Unit immediately commenced an investigation which involved the full cooperation from the District School Board of Niagara. The teacher has been suspended by the District School Board of Niagara from the onset of the allegation, pending the results of the criminal investigation.
David Michael COCKBURN (46 years) of St. Catharines was arrested on April 13th, 2023, and is charged with the following Criminal Code offences:
• Sexual Assault (1 count)
• Sexual Exploitation (1 count)
All charges relate to the involvement of one victim. Information received throughout the course of the investigation has led detectives to suspect there may be additional victims.
COCKBURN is being held for a bail hearing scheduled to take place tomorrow (April 14th, 2023) via video link to the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse located at 59 Church Street in the City of St. Catharines.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the lead investigator by dialing 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1009504.
Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-8477. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information that leads to an arrest.
Incident #23-6859