Teacher in Manitoba gets jail time for sexually exploiting teen student

Connor McDowell,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A court in Manitoba sentenced a former teacher from the Turtle Mountain School Division to jail on Tuesday following a guilty plea on charges of sexual exploitation of a teenage student dating back to 2010.

The male teacher, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim, has been sentenced by a provincial court to six months of jail time and 18 months of supervised probation. The teacher pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation — defined as an act where a person in a position of authority or trust touches or invites a young person to touch for a sexual purpose.

The facts of the case were also outlined during the sentencing by Associate Chief Judge Donovan Dvorak. He pointed out that the teacher was teaching Grade 9 to Grade 12 classes in the rural school division when the incident occurred and had taught the student and mentored her on a project.

The teacher and student relationship turned inappropriate as the then-17-year-old student and 30-year-old teacher began to meet privately and kissed on several occasions. The student also sent the teacher a sexually explicit photograph of herself in underwear.

At the time of the crime, the minimum sentence awarded for sexual exploitation was 45 days, whereas today the minimum sentence is one year in jail.

Judge Dvorak sentenced the teacher for six months after pointing out that it is necessary to condemn the behaviour and deter it from happening again. On the other hand, he said it needs to be taken into account that the former teacher had pleaded guilty and has not reoffended in the nearly 15 years since the events took place.

The teacher was arrested in Brandon in 2021 and was teaching with the Brandon School Division at the time. He was released on conditions, and placed on leave by BSD pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.

The case culminated Tuesday at a court set up at the Shamrock Centre in Killarney, with folding chairs and tables arranged in the community hall for a sentencing procedure. Crown attorney Andrew Sieklicki told the Sun the court travelled to Killarney from Brandon, as judicial proceedings are typically undertaken in a location as close as possible to the community where the crime was committed.

Judge Dvorak said the two primary purposes of the sentence in this case are to denounce the crime and deter its recurrence in the future. He added the court must send a message through the sentencing that children are not to be considered as potential sexual partners by persons in a position of trust or authority.

Along with the jail sentence and probation order, the former teacher was also ordered to provide a DNA sample, and to have no contact with the former student going forward.

Connor McDowell,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Brandon Sun