A Crown prosecutor said he’ll be seeking a “significant sentence” for a former North Vancouver high school teacher who had a two-year sexual relationship with one of his teenaged students.
Prosecutor Ron Edwards made the comments outside of court as a sentencing hearing began on April 26 for Chad Jeremy Smith, 41, a former Argyle Secondary music teacher who pled guilty to sexual exploitation in April 2016. Sentence on a summary conviction ranges from 90 days to 18 months in jail.
In court, the Crown prosecutor painted a picture of a popular music teacher who inundated a vulnerable student with gushing online messages, describing the two as sharing a “psychic soul connection.” In online correspondence the teacher sent to his student, Smith refers to summer break as a “two month hug hiatus.”
“The web is being spun,” Edwards told the court.
The teacher and his underage student had sex many times over two years, according to Edwards, who listed encounters in the student’s home and Smith’s office.
Edwards also mentioned a lighting system at Smith’s office that let passersby know they shouldn’t enter when a certain light was on.
At the victim’s behest, her family wasn’t going to pursue charges against Smith. However, Smith kept trying to maintain the relationship, sending a gift, numerous emails, and dropping by the victim’s workplace.
Even when the victim was blunt, writing “Just leave me alone,” and “I will never trust you,” Smith was undeterred, according to the Crown. (more...)
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