Ex-Hamilton elementary school principal pleads guilty to assaulting four students

The Grade 6 student thought the principal at Ryerson Elementary School, Damir (Dan) Ivankovic, was super nice and energetic" at first, and confided in him about bullying and self-image issues.

That was before Ivankovic started calling her sweetheart" and baby girl," and on other occasions rubbed her shoulders or touched her thigh.

Why is the man who is supposed to make me feel safe calling me princess' and moving his hand to my lower back? Why is his office door being closed whenever I enter?"

Those words were spoken in court Tuesday by one of the ex-principal's victims, as Ivankovic pleaded guilty to assaulting four of his former students at Ryerson, a middle-school near Queen Street South and Charlton Avenue West.

What truly hurt me was that you acted as if you cared for me," she continued in her victim impact statement, read over Zoom. While you did guide me through a dark time, you only created an even darker battle for me to face in the coming years of my life."

The assaults on the four women, who are now in high school - their names cannot be published - occurred between 2014 and 2018. Ivankovic was a principal with Hamilton's public school board starting in 2003, and assigned to Ryerson in 2014.

Ivankovic was 54 when he was arrested by Hamilton police in August 2019.

He was additionally charged with sexually assaulting three of the women, but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of assault in all four cases.

Sentencing will be July 20. The Crown and defence agreed to request a suspended sentence with three years probation, and for Ivankovic to submit a blood sample to the national DNA registry.

But while Ivankovic's lawyer said his client adamantly denies any sexual aspect or intent" in his actions, Justice Joseph Fiorucci directed the Crown and defence to present arguments for sentencing about whether the sexual integrity of the victims may have been compromised" by Ivankovic, based on evidence read in court.

I refer to one part of the agreed statement of facts, that (Ivankovic) briefly touched (a victim's) right breast with his left hand for about two seconds," said the judge.

I'm concerned when I hear from the Crown that there was a significant breach of trust and a pattern of conduct with multiple victims."

Ivankovic said little while appearing virtually from his lawyer's Toronto office. Two of the former students spoke, and the statement of a third was read by the Crown. One of the four complainants chose not to file a victim impact statement.

The mother of one of the victims also read a statement and, like her daughter, swore at Ivankovic to conclude her remarks.

Victims described how his assaults had haunted their lives and left them feeling vulnerable in the presence of male teachers. One woman said she had been diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and had felt suicidal.

Hamilton police began interviewing witnesses about Ivankovic in January 2019, after a Grade 8 student at Ryerson reported that a year earlier, he had rubbed and massaged her lower back at school, and would sometimes tell her she looked gorgeous."

One student said he placed his hand on her buttocks; others described him as weird and creepy."

One of the victims said in court that she heard some students defend Ivankovic, saying that he was the best and didn't deserve to be fired," and added that he had been adored by parents and staff," which made her fearful no one would believe what she was saying.

I feel like you manipulated them just as much as you did to me," she said, addressing the ex-principal directly.

Jon Wells is a feature writer at The Spectator. jwells@thespec.com