Music teacher sent to jail for sex assaults in 1990s
Former Wynyard-area music and band teacher Gerard Loehr has been sentenced to 87 weeks in jail following his convictions for three counts of sexual assault.
The charges stemmed from complaints by three women going back to their interactions with him in the 1990s in the now-defunct Shamrock School Division, which covered the Wynyard and Foam Lake areas. The assaults happened when the victims were 14 years old or younger; Loehr, now in his late 50s, was then his late 20s and early 30s.
Loehr, who was convicted in November, was sentenced Friday in Yorkton Provincial Court.
Crown lawyer Darren Grindle sought a 24-month jail sentence, with a maximum reduction of four months, due to what's called the totality principle.
Defence lawyer Tom Campbell argued for a oneyear jail sentence. He said Loehr has already served 14 days in pretrial custody, which amounts to a 21-day time-served credit, based on a time-and-a-half multiplication factor.
Judge Lloyd Stang applied the 21-day credit to a 630-day sentence.
Two of the victims, who cannot be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban, read their impact statements in court to Loehr, who also attended in person.
One woman recounted how he, during private music lessons, would stand behind her to give instructions, while rubbing her lower back and buttocks areas with his groin, sometimes with an erection.
He also touched her breasts while standing behind her.
She was 11 years old the first time Loehr assaulted her.
She described how her teacher “groomed” her to make her feel special, via the one-on-one instructions and his praise of her musical skills.
“The (criminal) trial made me realize you groomed us so well, we actually thought you were helping us,” she said.
She described the psychological harm she suffered.
“Every time someone complimented me for my (instrumental skills), I felt it was a reminder and felt shame for what was going on.”
When Stang asked Loehr if he wanted to make a statement, the latter spoke for about one minute, at times mumbling and using a quiet tone.
He said he has been forced to declare bankruptcy because of the legal costs he has incurred through this and another criminal trial in Ontario.
The women first went to the Wynyard RCMP in February 2019.
Loehr has lived in Ottawa since moving from Saskatchewan in the mid1990s. Ottawa police in 2019 charged him with sex assault and sexual interference (also called sexual touching).