Teacher accused of sexual exploitation not in position of power: lawyer

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A Calgary man who had a sexual relationship with a former student did not have custody at the time and should be acquitted of sexually exploiting her, his lawyer argued Wednesday.

But a prosecutor said the high school teacher crossed legal and ethical lines by having sex with the girl multiple times before she was 18.

During final arguments in the case, defense attorney Alain Hepner said Jason Selby had no control or influence over the plaintiff because their sexual encounters occurred after she graduated from high school in June 2018 and that she was a willing and adult participant.

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“On July 7, there was no longer a position of power, no longer any influence over what she did in her life, no longer any position of trust,” Hepner told Judge Sean Dunnigan.

“The relationship between the teacher and the student had ended on June 30, she had nothing (anymore) to do with that school… I just don’t see her being forced or dependent.”

According to the court, Selby had last been the complainant’s teacher in the fall and winter of 2017-2018.

Selby is accused of sexual exploitation for the relationship he had with the 17-year-old student after the 2017-2018 school year.

The woman, identified only as Amy because she cannot be named due to a publication ban, said she began reaching out Selby, then 35, just before she graduated from Western Canada High School in June 2018.

The following month, after classes ended, accepted an invitation from Selby to come to his home in Woodbine on July 7, 2018, where he told her that other students had referred to him as “Mr. Dreamy.At his home, the two smoked cannabis in his hot tub before having sex on the couch while his young daughter slept upstairs.

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She later said that he had been very insistent that no one find out about their relationship, but she had also never asked her age.

“He said, ‘It could be very serious if someone saw us together… It could… destroy my career,’ ” Amy told the Alberta Court of Justice in August 2023.

During cross-examination by Hepner last month, the woman testified that Selby was an authority figure to her.

“He didn’t have a direct authority, but I still felt like he was an authority figure in my life because he was my teacher… and he was someone I looked up to,” the woman said. “I really valued his opinion.”

The court heard that the relationship continued until 2020, but the complainant testified that it was at this point that she realised he was abusing her and that she broke it out.

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Hepner argued that the text messages the two sent early in their relationship showed no evidence of dominance in favor of Selby.

“The way they interacted with each other shows there was no power imbalance,” he said.

“This girl was not a wallflower, she was an equal participant in the relationship.”

According to Hepner, courts should be careful in determining when the line between legitimate and exploitative relationships is crossed.

But prosecutor Pam McCluskey argued that Selby had broken the law under Section 153 of the Criminal Code by having sex with her multiple times before she turned 18.

And she told the court that the simple fact that the defendant was a teacher at the time made his behaviour exploitative.

“The suspect was in a position of trust, he was a teacher at her high school and was involved in sexual acts on several occasions between July 7 and August 12,” McCluskey said.

“We know what role teachers play, how important teachers are… the teacher-student relationship is one in which a power dependency is inherent.”

Selby never tried to find out Amy’s age, but told her she had to make sure their relationship remained a secret, stressing that his career would be ruined if it became public.

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“He knows there are expectations for teachers and students,” McCluskey said.

“We expect (teachers) to treat students in a certain way, whether they are in the classroom or not… there is no legal permission for 16 or 17 year olds for a person in a position of trust.”

Selby is twice the age of the plaintiff, which suggests a power imbalance, she said, as does his senior position in society.

Selby has since been fired from Western Canada High School.

Final arguments continue Thursday before Judge Sean Dunnigan.

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X (Twitter) @BillKaufmannjrn

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