The defense said Wednesday that the former high school teacher in Calgary who had sex with a 17-year-old former student just weeks after the student graduated was not in a place of trust or authority over her.
Police have charged 41-year-old Jason Selby with sexual abuse. He used to teach at Western Canada High School. The Crown dropped a charge of sexual assault in the middle of the hearing.
Canucks must be 16 years old to give their consent. However, sexual exploitation can happen if the accused has power or trust over the claimed victim.
At the trial, the only question was whether Selby stayed in charge of the teen after she finished.
His lawyer, Alain Hepner, gave his final arguments on Wednesday. “There’s no exploitation, no control or influence, no trust relationship, and no power imbalance,” he said.
The girl was in Grade 12 in 2017–18, and Selby, who was 33 at the time, taught her in the first term but not the second. This was proven in court.
It was 2018 when Hepner said Selby was “not her teacher; he was not involved in any of her classes.”
The young woman’s name is kept safe by a publication ban.
“An attraction between them”
The trial, which started a year ago, was broken up into several parts. The court heard proof that Selby and the girl started texting in 2018 while she was still a student at Western.
The girl said in court that she and Selby had sex at his house in June of that year, not long after she finished.
Hepner said that the text messages show “two people making small talk… interested in each other.”
“This girl wasn’t a shrinking violet; they were attracted to each other…” I don’t think Mr. Selby has any power or control over [the teenager].”
Keeping things secret
Lawyer Pam McCluskey pushed for a conviction, telling Judge Sean Dunnigan that Selby “was in a position of trust” over the new graduate.
“That she’d graduated did not change her status as a young person or the accused’s status as a person in a position of trust or authority toward her,” he said.
McCluskey also brought up the complainant’s claim that Selby told the teen to lie about their relationship so that he could keep his job.
“He told her, ‘You can’t even tell anyone you’re here,'” “The lying and keeping secrets is a big part of it,” McCluskey said.
Friday is the last day for the Crown prosecutor to make her closing statements.
The person who made the complaint called the police in 2021 because she thought Selby was having a sexual relationship with another teen.
She said that by that time she had understood how young she was when she started dating the teacher.
