Teacher’s relationship had ‘diabolical’ effect on teen

A Calgary music teacher had frequent sexual encounters with a ninth-grade boy in her school band office and her vehicles, the former student testified at a hearing Tuesday in Edmonton.

The teacher smoked marijuana with the teen and his friends, bought him clothes, jewelry, a bong and other gifts and regularly supplied him and a friend with alcohol and cigarettes, the former student, now an adult, also testified.

The then-14-year-old was drinking so much alcohol he’d sometimes wake up shaking the next morning, he told an Alberta Teachers’ Association conduct committee hearing.

The student’s father, who also testified Tuesday, said his son’s relationship with the teacher had a “diabolical” effect on their lives, accelerating his addiction and mental-health problems. He has been in and out of an addiction treatment program and did not complete Grade 10.

The association has charged the teacher with five counts of unprofessional conduct, including having an inappropriate sexual relationship with the student, and using drugs.

She pleaded guilty to charges of having an inappropriate social relationship with the boy and exchanging inappropriate messages, but she denied the sexual contact and drug use. If guilty, she could face a fine, a reprimand or her teaching certificate could be in jeopardy.

A court-ordered publication ban prevents identifying the teacher or students involved.

While the student felt classmates and teachers looked down on him, his music teacher invited him to chat and offered to tutor him during her spare period, the student said.

The teacher began giving him rides, which became opportunities for oral sex and intercourse in parks and parking lots, the hearing heard.

Counsellors reported the relationship to Calgary police when the boy disclosed it in a grouptherapy session. Police charged the woman with sexual assault and sexual contact with a child in 2014. The Crown stayed the charges in 2015 without providing a reason.