Verdict expected in sexual exploitation trial
Teacher had relationship with student
A substitute high school teacher who admits having sex with her former student could learn today whether the relationship was illegal.
Justice Grant Currie is scheduled to release his verdict in the Saskatoon Queen’s Bench Court trial of Erin Osmond, who was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation after a then-16-year-old complainant told RCMP he had sex with her on four occasions between March and April of 2013.
The charge of sexual exploitation requires the Crown to prove the accused held a position of trust or authority toward a young person aged 16 to 18. The complainant’s identity is protected by a publication ban.
Crown and defence lawyers argued over whether or not Osmond, now 29, was still in a position of trust or authority over the teen boy during the physical relationship, because the substitute teacher was no longer working at their Watrous high school when the sex took place.
Osmond and the complainant both testified at the trial, each detailing how the relationship progressed from innocuous text messages while she was his teacher to a more sexually charged relationship by the end of her teaching contract. More than 125 pages of text messages from the two were submitted as evidence at the trial. Both testified the texting progressed to long phone conversations during which they expressed romantic feelings for each other.
The two kissed in her classroom on the last day of her contract, court heard. The sexual intercourse happened after her contract ended.
Although she was not working at the teen’s school when they had sex, Osmond was still in a position of authority because she continued working for the school division as a substitute until RCMP got involved, Crown prosecutor Jaimie MacLean said during final arguments.
Defence lawyer Leslie Sullivan argued there is no evidence Osmond exploited the complainant’s trust — she cited the bet he had with a friend that he could sleep with his teacher — and that once out of the classroom she had no control over his life and he did not rely on her for anything.
“It was a love affair between two consenting people,” Sullivan told court.
A Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation discipline case looking into Osmond’s potential misconduct is on hold, pending the outcome of the court case.