Accused in alleged Acadia offences was substitute teacher
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/03/2023 (956 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A former Winnipeg junior high teacher accused of multiple sex offences against a young student had worked as a substitute for Pembina Trails School Division.
Jan Marcopined Laya, 32, was arrested March 4 and released on bail that day, court records show.
The full conditions of his release were not immediately available. However, he’s prohibited from contacting and communicating with anyone under 18.
Laya had worked as a substitute teacher for PTSD, its superintendent said.
Winnipeg Police Service child abuse investigators were contacted in October about the alleged sexual assault and luring of a teen girl who attended Acadia Junior High, in the Fort Richmond neighbourhood.
The girl told investigators that, over seven months between 2021 and 2022, a teacher at the school “forged an inappropriate relationship with her,” police said Tuesday, adding “there was sexual communication over social media.”
On one occasion, police alleged, the accused tried to kiss the girl but she pulled away and ran. The girl wasn’t physically injured during the incidents, police said.
PTSD superintendent Lisa Boles said the division treats the allegations seriously.
“The teacher was acting as a substitute teacher at the time the division was notified of the criminal investigation and interim measures were implemented at that time,” Boles said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
Police and the division both deferred comment to each other when asked when the division was notified about the investigation and what subjects Laya had taught.
It’s unclear what the interim measures the division undertook entailed.
“As the division is precluded from providing any further details regarding the allegations, we will not be releasing any additional information at this time,” Boles wrote.
“Care and concern for students and staff remains our focus. Support personnel, the clinical team and the school team will be available at the school as needed.”
The school, on Killarney Avenue, teaches students in grades 7-9.
Laya has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and luring a person under 14 by telecommunication, as well as transmitting, making available, distributing or selling sexually explicit material to someone under 16.
He will make an administrative court appearance April 11, records show. He has no prior criminal convictions.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @erik_pindera
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Related Articles
Police investigate ‘predatory’ sex assault at Law Courts entrance
Advertisement Advertise With Us