A former Fraser Valley music teacher has been sentenced to time served and three years of probation after previously pleading guilty to the criminal harassment of two students.
Bevin van Liempt, 34, was sentenced March 12 in Abbotsford provincial court to two counts of criminal harassment – one in Abbotsford and the other in Chilliwack.
Van Liempt had been a prominent figure in the local music scene for many years, holding teaching positions at the Bakerview Music Academy and other organizations in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
He was arrested and charged in 2024 with the two criminal harassment charges, pleading guilty to both offences in February 2025.
Crown counsel James Barbour stated on the first day of van Liempt’s sentencing hearing on Oct. 1 that two 17-year-old girls – whose names are protected under a publication ban – were bombarded with emails, even after informing their former teacher they had no romantic interest in him.
Barbour said it was a simple request for a reference letter to further her music studies in the spring of 2023 that started off the chain of events and led the Abbotsford girl to eventually report van Liempt’s behaviour to the police.
In a series of sporadic email communications between the two, van Liempt began to express some romantic interest in the teenage girl, which included him saying he would like to “hear her moan,” Barbour said.
After these emails came to light, van Liempt was fired from his position at Bakerview Music Academy.
The emails continued sporadically between the two for a couple of months afterward, although the girl formally expressed on Oct. 4, 2023 that she was not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with him, Barbour said.
He said despite the girl’s request for van Liempt to stop contacting her, he continued to send emails to her, resulting in her going to police.
Barbour said that in February and March 2024, van Liempt sent a total of 21 emails to her.
Another teenage student, who lived in Chilliwack, encountered a similar situation with van Liempt, with this exchange taking place between December 2024 and January 2025.
On Dec. 14, 2024, van Liempt sent the girl an email in which he asked her out to dinner and said he was constantly having to fend off how much he liked her, but soon wouldn’t have to hold back because she was about to turn 18.
In response, the teen showed her mother the email and blocked van Liempt, but he continued to email her. His messages indicated he was under the belief that her mother was forcing her to block him and refute his romantic advances.
She, too, told van Liempt to stop contacting her, Barbour said. However, he responded less than a minute later and proceeded to email her multiple times throughout the next few days.
The girl also reported the matter to police.
In the months leading up to the sentencing hearing, van Liempt filed several applications in the court, including to attempt to overturn his guilty plea, but that was rejected.
He also served time in and out of jail for breaching his bail conditions, including for allegedly contacting a third girl through social media and again contacting the Chilliwack teen.
Van Liempt has also filed civil lawsuits against multiple people, with allegations including that they conducted a “coordinated campaign of defamation” against him.
Among those named in the lawsuits are staff and board members of Bakerview Music Academy, an independent reporter who has written several articles about him, and a “relation” of the Chilliwack teen.
– with files from Brandon Tucker
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