Parents of a Montreal-area teacher are trying to list their students' art for sale online

A Montreal-area high school is under investigation after several parents say their children's art teacher took pictures of them in class without their knowledge and put them up for sale on several websites.

CTV News spoke with two parents who said they were outraged after learning their children's art was appearing online.

One of the drawings, painted by a 12-year-old student at Westwood High School in St. Lazare, an island suburb west of Montreal, has been listed for $151 on at least four different websites.

Images of him and other classmates appear on a variety of items, including T-shirts selling for $55, coffee mugs for $41, and even iPhone cases for $35 a pop.

The young girl's father, Michael Bennett, said in an interview: “I am absolutely disgusted by this man. It's incredible, you know, unbelievable.”

Bennett said she found out what happened when her two daughters came home from school on Wednesday and a classmate said she had Googled her name and visited a teacher's website. That student went to report it to another teacher, she said, and within minutes, word of what they had found quickly spread around the school.

Both girls' creations are available for sale on various websites.

Joel DeBellefeil said the portrait of his 13-year-old son, drawn by a classmate, appears on several items for sale, including mugs, T-shirts and iPhone cases. (Source: 1-mario-perron.pixels.com)Bennett said the incident raises serious questions about ethics and the school's screening process for teacher Mario Perron.

“Is this teacher asking me to do certain types of projects to sell them? Is she asking me to do these types of portraits to fit the market? I'm not entirely sure about that. However, I don't admire this person at all. I don't admire the school or the school board. ” she said, her two children were surprised.

“They feel cheated.”

When contacted by CTV News, Lester B. The Pearson School Board (LBPSB) did not respond to questions about how many students were involved or what the teacher's status on the school board was.

“The Lester B. Pearson School Board is aware of the situation and takes these allegations very seriously. The investigation is ongoing, so the school board cannot comment further on the matter,” Darren Becker, director of communications for LBPSB, wrote in a brief email Thursday.

Another parent, Joel DeBelfeil, said his 13-year-old son came home from school on Wednesday with the same “unbelievable” story about his art teacher. She said her son found a portrait of her that was painted by a friend and posted on one of the websites that appeared to belong to Perron.

He calls it an “extremely troubling” case that the school needs to address.

“It's unbelievable that he felt he had the right to use and exploit these children's rights and their artwork for his own financial gratification,” she told CTV News.

According to Perron's LinkedIn profile, he has been a full-time instructor at Westwood Junior since September 2019 and describes himself as a “multidisciplinary studio artist.” On his profile, he promotes his own website – 1-mario-perron.pixels.com – where you can find Bennett and DeBelfel's children's art.

Perron did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Both parents say they believe there are dozens of student portraits on teachers' websites and are urging the school board to take immediate action.

This is an evolving story that will be updated.