Manitoba teacher charged with sexual offences related to former student

Winnipeg police have charged a teacher with a series of sexual offences dating back as far as 2015, when she worked for a school in the Seine River School Division.

The charges relate to events that happened between 2015 and 2018, and allege the teacher committed offences against a student who was15 years old whenthe incidents began, police said in a news release Friday.

The now 36-year-old teacher has been charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual interference and two counts of luring one of luring a person under 18 years of age and one of luring a person under 16 years of age.

CBC is not identifying the accused woman or the school where she worked at the time because of a court order protecting the man's identity.

Detectives from the Winnipeg police sex crimes unit interviewed the student as part of an investigation that began last April.

The student, now 22, spoke to CBCabout the allegations before police laid their charges.

As of this year, the teacher was working at a school elsewhere in Manitoba.

At the completion of the investigation, detectives sought an opinion from the Crown to determine whether criminal charges should be laid. Manitoba's prosecution service confirmed charges were authorized.

The lawyer representing the teacher in the matter of the criminal charges, Josh Weinstein, declined to comment on the case since it's before the courts.

Lawsuit, counterclaim filed

The former student filed a lawsuit in February 2021 against the teacher and the Seine River School Division, which employed her. His lawsuit seeks more than $400,000 in damages.

In her statement of defenceto the man's lawsuit, the teacher admitted she had sexual intercourse with the student, but alleged it was "due to threats of violence and extortion" by her former student.

She alleges she did not consent to sexual intercourse with the student and that the "intercourse amounted to rape,"the court document says.

She has filed a counterclaim against the student for damages, distribution of intimate images and sexual battery.