Thursday, May 26, 2016

Shawnigan teacher convicted for luring and sex with student


Once a revered teacher, Andy Olsen rushed from court Wednesday a guilty man.

“I think it just reiterates the fact that teachers are in a position of trust when you are working with children and youth you need to be very mindful of the position that you hold,” says Crown Prosecutor Leah Fontaine. “The power that you have.”

The former teacher at elite Shawnigan Lake School, Canada’s largest private boarding school faced six charges including child luring, sexual exploitation and abuse of authority and trust. Court heard they were all committed against one female student between 2014 and 2015 while he was a house director, a live in teacher at the school and she was a student.

Court heard she was a vulnerable girl, prone to anxiety who was 17 when the alleged incidents took place.

But Olson’s defense argued he did not know she was struggling emotionally, and that he had no direct contact as a teacher or coach with her to establish a position of authority over her.

The judge ultimately disagreed, convicting him on 5 counts, the only acquittal on the charge of assault.  (more...)


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