Crown stays all charges against former Steinbach teacher, coach

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/11/2023 (654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former Steinbach teacher and coach who was accused of inappropriately touching students during rugby practices had all charges against him stayed by Crown prosecutors Wednesday.

David Bueti, 43, worked as a teacher and coach at Steinbach Regional Secondary School at the time of the alleged offences, which were reported to RCMP as having occurred between Feb. 1 and May 31, 2022.

He worked at the school from February to June of that year.

Bueti was originally charged last July with five counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual interference involving six students between the ages of 15 and 18. Charges involving one of the alleged victims were stayed by the Crown following her testimony at trial.

Court records show charges involving two other alleged victims were stayed last month.

The remainder of the charges — three counts of sexual assault against three students and one of sexual interference — were stayed one week after a judge rejected a motion that would have allowed her to use the evidence of each student to corroborate the other.

“Her honour’s decision on the similar-fact application includes a review of many of the important aspects of the evidence at this trial,” Crown attorney Jonathan Mays told provincial court Judge Wanda Garreck at a hearing Wednesday morning.

“After careful consideration of your honour’s decision and reasons, the Crown is entering a stay of proceedings in relation to all the remaining charges … as we’ve determined there is no longer a reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

Bueti’s lawyer, Josh Weinstein, told the Free Press his client was cloaked in the presumption of innocence the day he was charged and that presumption should remain.

“I do not know what Mr. Bueti’s next steps will be, but I do know that he is looking forward to spending time with his friends and family who have been very supportive of him over the last 16 months,” Weinstein said.

Two teens testified in October that the alleged assaults occurred during rugby practice when Bueti used his hands to reposition their bodies during drills — touching their breasts or chest area with his hands, and in one case briefly brushing his pelvis against a player’s backside. Another teen alleged Bueti touched her inappropriately under the guise of examining an injury.

Under cross-examination, one teen admitted she could not be sure Bueti was aware he was touching her with his pelvis. Another who testified Bueti touched her breast previously told police he did not touch her breast.

The teens testified they discussed the alleged incidents with each other.

The three teens told court in October Bueti touched them inappropriately in his capacity as an assistant rugby coach.

The rugby team’s head coach testified she asked Bueti to step down after less than two months because they had different coaching styles.

The testimony was heard as part of a Crown similar-fact motion that, if accepted, would have allowed the prosecution to argue Bueti’s alleged actions were evidence of a pattern of conduct that supported a finding of guilt.

The coach testified that she did not see inappropriate behaviour, Garreck wrote in her Nov. 16 decision on the similar-fact motion.

The stays entered on Wednesday mean that although the charges against Bueti have not been formally withdrawn or dropped by the court, the prosecution is not proceeding.

The Hanover School Division, which oversees the Steinbach high school, said it would not comment on the court developments Wednesday, citing advice from its legal department.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca