Breaching to the choir: Music teacher back in jail with fresh allegations in advance of sentencing for criminal harassment of students

Bevin van Liempt’s case gets more convoluted all the time as he is accused of violating release conditions, publication ban

Not again.

Fraser Valley music teacher Bevin van Liempt is back behind bars for allegedly violating conditions of his release from custody, yet again, while awaiting sentencing for two criminal harassment convictions.

If the 34-year-old had made it the three months from March of this year to his scheduled sentencing hearing on Tuesday (June 3, 2025) without sharing prohibited information or contacting people he's forbidden from contacting, the case would be wrapped up with no more jail time. 

But, allegedly, he couldn’t control himself.

Van Liempt was originally charged with criminal harassment of a 17-year-old female music student in Abbotsford after sending her thousands of unwanted texts and emails. That trial began in November, ran into December then was adjourned to February. In early January, van Liempt contacted a Chilliwack student who similarly told him to stop (see below for full details of these emails). His bail was revoked on Jan. 14 and he was charged with a second count of criminal harassment.

On Feb. 3, the Abbotsford trial continued with him behind bars living at Surrey Pretrial Centre with no lawyer. He was representing himself. During the trial when the now 18-year-old woman was on the witness stand, van Liempt heard firsthand what he claimed he wanted all along: the truth that she didn’t want to be contacted by him straight from her mouth. On Feb. 26, he abruptly pleaded guilty to both counts of criminal harassment and was released pending sentencing.

At 9:49 p.m. that night, however, van Liempt made a long post on Facebook that said, in part: "I'm back! There is currently an absolute boatload of invective floating around. I am happy to meet with anyone and everyone who wants to ask questions and hear my side of the story."

My side of the story? This was his side of the story that he would later recount to me outside the Abbotsford courthouse, and share the next day. On March 1, 2025, he posted a 40-minute selfie video detailing several aspects of the case, the accusation, the charges, and his perspective on all of it, much of it in clear violation of his release conditions. 

He was arrested that day and back in jail. He was later released again on bail. On March 29, van Liempt sent me a slew of emails, much of the evidence against him used by Crown prosecutors, which included emails he sent to the girls.

Fast forward to his scheduled sentencing hearing on Tuesday (June 3, 2025). I didn’t attend, but he told me via email on June 4 it was postponed because he and his lawyer (he has counsel now) requested time to review pre-sentence reports and prepare character references.

A day after that, Thursday, June 5, van Liempt was rearrested and charged with a failure to comply with a release order connected to the Abbotsford file, and a new file for breaching the publication ban regarding information that could identify a victim or witness in a sexual case.

Van Liempt is now back at Surrey Pretrial Centre, due in court June 10 to face a Crown application to officially revoke his bail. If successful, this means he would be kept in jail until sentencing for the two index offences.

A deeper look at email correspondence evidence

As stated above, Van Liempt, 34, pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to both counts of criminal harassment of two different girls who were 17 at the time of the incidents. The charge of breaching the conditions of his release on the first charge, was dropped with his plea. The second breach charge was dropped on June 3. 

Van Liempt and his mother Paula DeWit with whom he was living when the index offences and breaches took place, are deeply involved in the choral and symphony music world in the Fraser Valley and beyond. Both claim to be deeply religious and are involved in singing engagements and several Catholic churches around the Lower Mainland. 

DeWit is the conductor of the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra where van Liempt was president of the board of directors well after the criminal harassment began and was under investigation up until the first report on this website in January 2025 about the criminal charges.

This case garnered considerable attention in the classical music community in the Fraser Valley and beyond, despite the fact that no news outlet other than this one is reporting on it. More than two dozen people got in touch after stories appeared here on Something Worth Reading, many with questions, shock, outrage. Some also with relief that, as has been expressed to me several times, finally something is being done about van Liempt’s alleged ongoing behaviour, particularly in the choral community.

One parent in Chilliwack expressed dismay at the fact that van Liempt was also involved in a children's choir at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre even after he was charged.

One person connected to one of the victims sent me a screenshot of a posting by Laura Gebbinck of Yarrow in a Fraser Valley Homeschool Events group calling for children aged five and up to join a choir directed by DeWit.

“These two homeschool choirs keep me up at night.” the person told me. “This is how it starts.”

When van Liempt’s behaviour was first reported at his job at Bakerview Music Academy he was immediately fired by program director Heidi Epp. Some church leaders have also banned him, including St. James Catholic Church in Abbotsford. He was also banned from Holy Family Parish in Vancouver and other churches after the harassment came to light.

Despite those responses, whether it is in court or in correspondence or to me in person, Van Liempt has painted himself as understanding and compassionate, someone who does like these girls but also wants to help them. He is extremely intelligent when it comes to music, mathematics, logic. Whether he believes completely what he says or not is unclear, but he repeatedly suggests that when these girls he was teaching music to and then courted told him to stop contacting them, that wasn't them talking. That was because their mothers found out and the girls were forced to do so. Then, he suggested the girls were coerced by police into making formal complaints.

Despite his intelligence, and no matter how often or in no uncertain terms a girl tells him to stop, he has so far shown an inability or a refusal to reflect on his actions and understand what “no” means. He has blamed parents or police involvement at every turn. He and his mother threaten lawsuits at the drop of a hat for talking about the situation.

On March 29, van Liempt forwarded to me the final email from the Chilliwack victim from Dec. 28, 2024 at 7:41 p.m. It would be hard to be any more unambiguous as a 17-year-old girl telling a 34-year-old man she isn't interested in him romantically:

“Bevin, I am not interested in you.
“You have created a drunken, insane delusion in your mind.
“I find you a repulsive, pathetic freak. I have no desire to be with you or ever see you again. Your advances make me feel dirty. Unclean. I want to use a pair of salad tongs to peel my skin off from the eyelids down. I have no kind feelings towards you. 
“Do not contact me. Do not reply to this message. 
“Know that you have ruined a happy experience for me, and made this a miserable Christmas. 
“If you make further advances, I will consider it harassment and personally contact the police. 
“I hope you feel every bit the disgusting pervert you are. I hope the truth about you gets out and mothers know to keep their daughters far away from scum like you. You aren't worth the shit on the bottom of my work boots. 
“Go to hell where you belong, ”

That was Dec. 28, 2024. Van Liempt responded one minute later: “Well that's not unclear. Good job.”

He then did not listen to the overt demand from the girl to stop contacting her, to not reply to that email, to stop making further advances with the threat of police involvement. Seven minutes later at on Dec. 28, 7:48 p.m.: “I asked you to dinner.  Not to sit on my face. Everyone can calm down. I do appreciate the clarity, though. And I have ZERO doubt that you wrote this. It's a lot more clear than your mother, in fact.”

With that he admitted he knew it was actually her responding to him, not her mother, and she was as forceful as possible saying “no.” She said if he continued she would call police. He momentarily seemed to understand, ending that email with “K, I will, as you ask – now fuck off.”

And he did stop emailing her, but only for the 76 hours left in 2024. Starting on Jan. 1, 2025 at 9:10 p.m., he sent seven more emails up until the early hours of Jan. 5. She replied to none of them.

Some exerpts from van Liempt's emails after an unequivocal order to stop followed by some of his emails to me:

Jan. 1, 9:10 p.m.: “The absolute worst thing anyone could do, at this point, is try to protect you. You quite firmly showed that you don't need protection. Good for you.... I like you. I like your eyes. I think you are a godsend.... If you want me to cuck [sic] the police, feel free to call them. But it is better if we just move on. You don't yet know me. Bahaha.”

Jan. 1, 9:11 p.m.: “No consequences – not a one. Can they manage to pervert that?It's a difficult thing to do.”

Jan. 2, 8:10 a.m.: “I think you've been made to feel like this is very important, or that you now have to quit, or blah blah blah.... None of that is real. I'm not a middleschooler. I can handle the fact that you (rather overstatedly, and aggressively) said no.... Now, I am left with a dilemma. Are you a) so upset that I asked if you wanted to come to dinner at your pleasure that you are legitimately invoking my eternal damnation, or b) not. It's such a hard dilemma. Shucks. Imma go with b. Remember how I taught you. Don't worry. You are fine. As ever. No place for worry or anxiety. I think you will recognize and remember this also as the teaching of our Lord. Do you think I could harm you? Never. Have faith. Bahahah.”

Jan. 2, 8:11 a.m.: “Oh, and I'm completely sober.”

Jan. 5, 12:43 a.m.: “I am not mad that you refused my offer. I am glad. Am I now supposed to abandon you? You are fine.”

Jan. 5, 12:47 a.m.: “They will hate me for it. For being loyal. As if I care. You can do whatever it is that you want.... If anyone can manage to frame my utter lack of expectations as a crime, he would be the devil.... Nothing happened to you; I asked if you wanted dinner.”

Jan. 5, 12:49 a.m.: “Rehearsals resume on the 10th. I will be utterly unmoved from what I was, at that time. It's not a big deal. Despite the exaggerated response. And I don't give a fuck what people say about it. Even a little.”

Van Liempt approached me outside the Abbotsford courthouse after a court appearance on March 13 to tell me some of his side of the story. I asked him why, if he is right, everyone is conspiring against him: the girls' parents, the RCMP, Crown counsel, judges. He told me it has to do with the “huge stigma” in society regarding big age gaps in relationship.

“There is an element of prejudice,” he said. “That's a real thing, right? Like if you look at Leonardo DiCaprio, he's got his young girlfriends, lots of people have opinions, that's totally inappropriate, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is a worry that people have in society.”

So all of this is about a May-December romance in an uptight world.

“I wouldn't be so reductive, but there's an element of that.

“I think people should really ask some questions. There's some serious lack of question-asking about what we're calling criminal in Canada today. The police don't get to tell me who my friends are. They don't and the fact that they tried is concerning.”

About these emails, van Liempt commented to me at length. This included his explanations, interpretations, even some cryptic threats of legal action.

“Of particular note, the aggressive, tempestuous correspondence [the Chilliwack victim] sent - it was absolutely nothing like anything she had ever sent or said to me before.Wildly out of character.”

And: “I suspect, as is always the case in the final analysis, these endeavours of hate – they will profoundly backfire. Love is the better portion. I do not think I can fully legally protect you from the inevitable fallout of this inestimable quagmire.... I would suggest a smart thing to do would be to speak with counsel. It's probably going to be expensive.”

And from his somewhat cryptic final message to me from March:

“I will now wax philosophic; it is the wiccan creed, 'an it harm none, do what you will.'
“It is the luciferian creed: 'do what you will' without qualification.
“But I say, echoing my confirmation Saint, St. Augustine: 'Love, and do what you will.'
“And this idea? There has never been a grander one.
“So – That is where we are.
“I will surely write to you later with news.”

-30-

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Paul J. Henderson
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