A former Winnipeg gym teacher has been charged with sexually assaulting a former student, Winnipeg police say.
The 41-year-old woman “forged an inappropriate and sexual relationship” with a girl who was under 18 years old and a student at Collège Béliveau when the offences started, police said in a news release Monday.
Police said the woman groomed the student and eventually gained her trust.
She allegedly engaged in physical and sexual contact with the girl on school trips and on occasion in Winnipeg, and the abuse continued after the girl no longer attended the school, the news release said.
Police said the child abuse unit found out about the relationship in February. Investigators charged the woman on March 29 with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and luring a person under 18 years of age by means of telecommunication.
She was released under Crown-authorized conditions, police said.
Louis Riel School Division (LRSD) said in a Monday statement that the division “immediately removed the woman from the workplace” after it heard about the allegations on March 18.
“This news will be distressing and may be overwhelming for students, their families, as well as staff. Our thoughts of care and concern go out to the victim and their loved ones,” the statement said.
“Staff and families in LRSD have received communication informing them of supports that are available to them and students.”
The division said it’s also completing its own investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call Winnipeg police’s child abuse unit at 204-986-3296.
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