Suspended teacher convicted of sexually abusing former student
Warning: this story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
EDMONTON A one-time Edmonton music teacher has been convicted of sexually abusing a former student.
After a multi-week trial, Justice Susan Bercov on Thursday convicted a suspended Edmonton Catholic Schools teacher of sexual assault and sexual interference for having sexual contact with a teenage boy.
Bercov imposed a publication ban on the name of the accused Thursday without explanation.
The teacher, in her 30s, worked as a music instructor at a junior high school. In May 2019, she was charged with three sex offences involving a former pupil, including sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference. The alleged offences took place between June and November 2016, when the student was 15.
The student, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, claimed the teacher initiated the sexual relationship. He said he was a willing participant, though as a minor he was legally unable to consent to any sexual contact. He claimed he and the teacher had intercourse in her cousin's basement, in the school music room during summer break, and in the teacher's car on a rural road.
The teacher said there were only two instances of sexual contact. She said the student — who was physically larger than she — forced himself on her after she brought him to her cousin's house. She claimed the student wished to discuss a personal issue in private and that she made sure another family member was home at the time of their meeting.
The case came down to the contradictory testimony of the teacher and the student. Bercov concluded neither teacher nor student were entirely credible witnesses. She found the teacher's explanation for why she was in the basement with her student “defies common sense,” but concluded the Crown had not proven the charge.
She found the Crown had proved its case regarding the oral sex in the car. Bercov said the teacher had not adequately established a defence of duress.