An American who hoped to spend three years on probation in Canada for a sex offence committed in the United States was to be deported, but an appeal process ensures he is not going anywhere soon.

Malcolm Watson, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen with permanent resident status in Canada, lives in St. Catharines, Ont., with his Canadian wife and children. A former teacher at an all-girls school in Buffalo, N.Y., he was convicted in October of improperly touching a 15-year-old student.

Malcolm Watson agreed to serve a three-year U.S. sentence at his home in Canada.

A controversial plea bargain approved by a Buffalo judge allowed him to serve his probation in Canada.

In a hearing on Monday in Niagara Falls, Ont., an official of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada decided he should be sent back to the United States.

He was found to be in a position of trust and authority over the victim, which would make his behaviour a criminal offence in Canada.

"So it is a victory for Canadian Border Services lawyers who have been pushing their case here today," the CBC'S Nil Köksal reported from Niagara Falls.

"But a victory only on paper, we have to say, because already Malcolm Watson's Canadian lawyer, Stephen Green, has filed an appeal, something that is well within Mr. Watson's rights as a permanent resident of Canada."

Because of a backlog at a tribunal in Toronto, the appeal will not be heard for at least a year, the lawyer predicted.
 
For now, Köksal reported, "Malcolm Watson is going to do just what he hoped to do when he got that plea deal in Buffalo for three years probation to be served in Ontario. He's going to stay in Ontario with his wife and three children."

The deal drew protests from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who deplored the idea of "dumping" sex offenders in Canada.

With files from the Canadian Press