Former teacher found guilty of sex crimes

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This article was published 05/12/2023 (641 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A judge has convicted a former St. Norbert Collegiate teacher of sexually assaulting one of her students, rejecting her claim the boy raped her and threatened to kill her if she didn’t comply with his continuing sexual demands.

Chasity Jenna Deah Findlay, 38, was found guilty Monday of one count each of sexual assault and sexual interference for offences committed between 2015 and 2017, beginning when the victim was 15 years old.

Provincial court Judge Anne Krahn said Findlay offered evasive and unresponsive testimony at trial “in order to maintain her narrative of the violence from (the victim).”

“Her evidence paints (him) to be a violent monster motivated only by a desire to see her suffer,” Krahn said.

Findlay, seated with her parents in the front row of the court gallery, shook her head and cried as Krahn detailed the basis for her findings of guilt.

Findlay remains free on bail and will be sentenced at a later date following the completion of a forensic psychiatric report.

The now 23-year-old victim testified at trial he was in Grade 10 when he became infatuated with Findlay and began taking every opportunity to chat and flirt with her. Two months later, he visited Findlay in her classroom after school hours, told her he loved her and wanted to marry her. The man said Findlay told him she felt the same way and they hugged.

Later that day, the victim was out walking when Findlay drove by, picked him up and took him to her house, where they “cuddled” for over an hour before the victim grew worried he had to return home.

They met again the next day and had sex at Findlay’s home, the man testified. They continued to meet for “porn star” sex whenever he could make an excuse to be away from home, at least two times a week, he said.

“While he instigated the relationship by professing his feelings for Ms. Findlay, her position as his teacher and his age required her to reject his overtures. Instead, I accept his evidence, she reciprocated his feelings and invited him to her house where the relationship became sexual,” Krahn said.

Findlay denied having any voluntary sexual relationship with the victim, claiming she was “shocked” when he professed his love for her. She said he appeared understanding when she told him it would be wrong to have a relationship with him, but weeks later returned to her classroom after school hours, grabbed her and forcefully kissed her.

Findlay said when she protested, the victim violently groped her, forced her to drive him to her house, where he raped her. She said the teen had her drive him home — saying no one would believe her if she reported the assault — and threatened to shoot her.

Findlay said over the next month, the teen visited her house uninvited several more times and raped her.

The victim said he grew uncomfortable with the relationship and that he broke up with her on the day he turned 16, the same day Findlay claimed he last assaulted her.

“Her version of events provides no context or details on why the offending stopped,” Krahn said. “She claimed he periodically came into her classroom and professed his love, but the violent assault did not resume.”

The victim said he and Findlay resumed their relationship when he turned 18 and he broke it off again months later.

Findlay, who said the man had started sexually assaulting her again, said she learned in late 2017 intimate pictures of her had been distributed in the community. She claimed subsequent text messages to the man were part of a plan to “keep him close” and learn who else had the photos.

Krahn rejected Findlay’s claim, saying learning who the man had given the picture to would not have had any impact on how many people saw them.

Krahn said Findlay expressed her love for the man in the text messages, which were a true reflection of her feelings at the time.

“I’ll love you every second of every day until the day I die and after that into the next life or heaven,” Findlay wrote. “You are the love of my life.”

Findlay argued the victim was financially motivated, as he has filed a $2.7-million lawsuit against her. Court records show she has filed a counter suit alleging sexual battery and distribution of intimate images.

“I find the mere filing of civil litigation is a neutral factor in my assessment of (his) credibility or Ms. Findlay’s credibility,” Krahn said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca