Ex-teacher admits to sex offences
Former Saskatoon high school instructor pleads guilty to child porn charges
SASKATOON Former Saskatoon high school teacher Rhett Lundgren is scheduled to be sentenced early next year after pleading guilty to three child pornography and sex offences.
Lundgren’s trial this week was vacated as a result of the pleas entered on Friday in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench to one count each of arranging to commit a sexual offence against a child, possession of child porn and attempting to access child porn.
The details of the case, as well as sentencing, were adjourned until Jan. 9. Breaches Lundgren committed while out of custody will also be dealt with that day, Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli said in court.
Each of the offences carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail.
Lundgren was a teacher at Walter Murray Collegiate when he was charged two years ago with two counts of arranging to commit a sexual offence against a child, possession of child porn and attempting to access child porn. The Crown stayed one of the counts of arranging to commit a sexual offence.
The charges stem from November and December 2016 and involved a child between the ages of eight and 10. However, Morelli confirmed there is no evidence that Lundgren ever physically harmed a child.
According to police, the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit executed a search warrant and arrested Lundgren on Dec. 8, 2016, nine days after launching an investigation into the online sexual exploitation of children through social media.
The investigation involved members of the ICE unit checking an “online chat” component of a social media application, Sgt. Scott Lambie said in an interview at the time.
Police alleged Lundgren was communicating with another adult about committing an offence against a child — not a student at Walter Murray Collegiate.
In October 2017, the Crown proceeded by direct indictment, allowing the case to bypass the preliminary hearing — held to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial — and proceed straight to the trial stage.
Lundgren also faces one count each in Alberta of sexual exploitation and child luring. Those charges stem from 2008 when Lundgren was a teacher at a Red Deer high school. The complainant in that case was 17 at the time of the alleged offences.
“Looking into the future and how we talk to our children about staying safe, we do need to make sure that they understand that people in authority, including teachers, can also be perpetrators,” Morelli said outside court.