Toronto teacher David Dewees, 32, faces four charges in a child exploitation investigation. (HO)

TORONTO -- Before leaving for work as a high school teacher in downtown Toronto yesterday, a volunteer camp counsellor was plucked from his west-end home by sex crimes cops.

Armed with a search warrant and allegations involving two boys under 16, Toronto Police picked up Jarvis Collegiate Institute teacher David Dewees ahead of his first court appearance today.

The 32-year-old English and Latin teacher has taught at Jarvis since 2003, but it is at the Christian-based Ontario Pioneer Camp near Huntsville that police allege he befriended two boys between July 2008 and July 2009 and had "inappropriate contact" with them over the Internet.

This led to two counts of luring and two counts of invitation to sexual touching. There is nothing to suggest Dewees committed any "contact offences," Det. Bill McGarry told reporters.

Dewees has volunteered at the camp since 1997, during which time he "mentored many young boys" as the male section head, McGarry said.

While nobody could be reached at the camp for comment, staff and students at his school expressed shock over the charges.

"The staff are clearly upset," principal Elizabeth Addo Noel said. "They're shocked. It's one of their colleagues. He's a valued colleague in the school, so you can understand that there's concern."

"He's a nice man and pretty friendly, maybe some people say overly friendly, but I would never think that something like this would happen, that somebody would file a complaint," Grade 12 student Lynette Woo said.

"I don't think he would do this," said Min Le, also in Grade 12. "He was always making little jokes here and there. He was friendly. I've never seen him do anything close, even jokingly about sexual harassing."

Dewees has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of his case.

Police said he used e-mail addresses Yukonlovesthe-rapids@hotmail.com, Dave-dewees@tricolour.queensu.ca, Yukon@pioneercamp.ca and David.dewees@sympatico.ca. He also went by Yukon16 on social networking site WAYN.com. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7474 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477.

TAMARA.CHERRY@SUNMEDIA.CA