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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 16 ,2 02 2 | 4 An Oakville school music teacher is facing child por- nography charges following an investigation by the Hal- ton Regional Police's Inter- net Child Exploitation Unit. Police said in a Friday (June 10) news release the charges stem from an in- vestigation that a person was allegedly sharing child sexual abuse material. As a result, Carmen Gassi, 70, of Oakville, was arrested on June 10 and charged with two counts of child pornography and making child pornography available. None of the charges have been proven in court. The accused was held in custody pending a bail hearing. According to police, Gassi has been a music teacher at White Oaks Sec- ondary School in Oakville since 2005 before retiring in June, though he still works as an occasional teacher. Police say he is also the mu- sical director at High Ren- dition Jazz, which is a mu- sic program for high school students in Halton. Back in 2012, Gassi was given the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excel- lence. Anyone with informa- tion regarding the investiga- tion is asked to contact Det. Todd Martin at 905-465-8983 or Det. Const. Stephane Ver- reault at 905-465-8986 of the Halton police's Internet Child Exploitation Unit. MUSIC TEACHER FACING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES BAMBANG SADEWO bsadewo@metroland.com CRIME Carmen Gassi, seen here in 2012, has been charged with child pornography offences. Metroland file photo A 27-year-old man from Montreal is facing numer- ous fraud-related charges after Halton police con- cluded an investigation in- to local instances of the "grandchild scam." The scam involves a fraudster calling a senior and pretending to be their grandchild who is in trou- ble (usually in jail) and needs money immediate- ly. On June 8 police said they were made aware of an alleged scam in prog- ress in Georgetown. A man reportedly at- tended a Georgetown resi- dence in order to collect $10,000 in cash from a se- nior, which police allege was a fabricated bail for her grandson. Officers were waiting and made an arrest. The investigation that followed resulted in police executing a search warrant at an Oakville hotel room where they allegedly un- covered evidence related to seven additional fraud of- fences in Halton and three in neighbouring jurisdic- tions. As a result of this inves- tigation, Kevin Tshiyoyi, 27, of Montreal faces 11 counts of fraud over $5,000 and unauthorized posses- sion of a credit card. Police said total losses by victims in these alleged frauds is more than $80,000. None of the charges against Tshiyoyi have been proven in court. Police have released Tshiyoyi's photo to the media and anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Hal- ton Police Regional Fraud Unit at 905-825-4777 ext. 8741 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.haltoncrimestop- pers.ca. MAN CHARGED IN 'GRANDCHILD SCAM' INVESTIGATION KEVIN TSHIYOYI Halton police photo We are always open at HomeFinder.ca, visit us online and view virtual tours without even stepping inside a home! We have new listings coming daily, virtual tours, neigh- bourhood information and more. Always open... always online VIEW OUR VIRTUAL TOURS