Teacher who had sex with 17-year-old former student not guilty of sexual exploitation
CBC
A teacher having sex with a 17-year-old former student weeks after she graduated may have been "distasteful, ill-advised or perhaps even immoral" but Jason Selby is not guilty of sexual exploitation, a Calgary judge ruled Friday.
Selby was accused of being in a position of trust or authority over the teen when he first had sex with her on July 7, 2018, a couple of weeks after she graduated from Western Canada High School.
At the time, Selby was 35 years old and a teacher at the school.
The identity of the complainant in this case is protected by a publication ban.
The two began a two-year sexual relationship that continued after she turned 18 that August.
In Canada, the age of consent is 16 years old. But if a person is in a position of trust or authority, their sexual partner must be at least 18 years old.
In this case, the sole issue at trial is whether Selby's position of trust or authority continued in the weeks after the complainant graduated between the first sexual encounter and her 18th birthday on Aug. 13, 2018.
Justice Sean Dunnigan ruled that he was left in doubt as to whether Selby remained in a position of trust after graduation.
"The significant age gap between the parties and the existence of a prior teacher/student relationship might make the accused's decision to begin an intimate relationship so quickly after graduation appear on its face to be unseemly, distasteful, ill-advised or perhaps even immoral," wrote Dunnigan.
"However, neither Parliament nor the courts have sought to prohibit a teacher absolutely from having a relationship with a former student or to define a socially acceptable 'cooling-off' period."
After the decision was handed down, defence lawyer Alain Hepner said he was "pleased" with the verdict and said his client is "very emotional."
"I's been a long, drawn-out process," he said. "It's been three years in trial and it's a roller-coaster."
Selby was the complainant's homeroom teacher in grades 10 and 11. He also taught her Grade 12 English in the fall semester of 2017.
The piecemeal trial took place over a number of dates in 2023 and 2024.
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