British Columbia’s teacher commissioner identified Carlo Deni Pavan as a Grindr user in an exchange with an adult posing as a 14-year-old boy in March 2023.
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British Columbia’s commissioner for teacher regulation has ruled that a high school teacher, Carlo Deni Pavan, breached professional standards after being implicated in messages exchanged through Grindr with an account posed to appear as a 14-year-old boy.
The commissioner’s decision says Pavan used Grindr under the name “Big Bear” to contact someone whose profile had no age listed, and the messages later showed that the account belonged to an adult man posing as a teenager to identify suspected predators.
According to the decision, Pavan initiated contact on March 14, 2023, and the pair exchanged messages between 10:23 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. During the exchange, the decoy wrote, “Well I’m 14 so friends and maybe more idk,” and after Pavan asked about additional photos, the decoy replied that he was not going to send anything “dirty.”
Pavan told the decoy, “I wasn’t asking. I don’t want to go to jail,” and questioned why the decoy did not like guys his own age. The decision says Pavan also warned the situation could lead to consequences, including telling the decoy, “Or call the cops!”
The decision also describes Pavan attempting to arrange a meeting, with the commissioner noting it was around 12:30 a.m. when Pavan proposed the two meet. The commissioner says Pavan suggested, “But it’s this, or hit me up when you’re older,” and that later messaging shifted briefly before further contact on March 16 and beyond.
On March 18, the decision says the pair arranged to meet, and Pavan offered to pick up the decoy at a Tim Hortons. The commissioner states that when Pavan met the person—referred to in the decision as “the Person”—Pavan did not greet a 14-year-old, and shortly after the Person approached Pavan while he was sitting in his car. The commissioner says Pavan then drove away while the Person filmed him.
The decision says videos posted on a Facebook site identified Pavan as a teacher. For his role in the Grindr exchange, Pavan’s employment was terminated on June 13, 2023, and the commissioner imposed a ban for several years.
The commissioner’s decision says Pavan agreed to the cancellation of his teaching certificate and has agreed not to apply for another one for a period of seven years.
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