A former Vernon, B.C. teacher accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with an elementary school student is back on trial one year after her previous court proceedings ended in a mistrial.
Deborah Ashton, 47, pleaded not guilty Monday to all charges, including counts of sexual assault and sexual interference with a person under the age of 14.
The jurors in her last trial, which ended last February, were unable to reach a unanimous decision.
Ashton, who has two children of her own, is accused of having roughly 200 sexual encounters with a student dating back to 2002, when she was a teacher and basketball coach at Mission Hill Elementary School. The alleged victim was in her Grade 7 class.
The first witnesses to take the stand Monday were the school authorities who received an anonymous note that brought the allegations to light.
Former superintendent Bob Peacock testified that when the alleged victim was asked about an unspecified issue involving Ashton, he volunteered that there was an issue and it was sexual in nature.
The teen's high school principal recalled the boy bowing his head before admitting the allegations were true.
The alleged victim testified in Ashton's last trial that he was not forced into a sexual relationship, though he would have been too young to legally consent.
Crown attorneys had no comment Monday, but defence lawyer Terry LaLiberte cast doubt on the strength of their case.
"The burden's on the Crown to prove [the allegations] beyond a reasonable doubt, and so far I haven't seen that evidence," Laliberte said.
The new trial is expected to wrap up in a few weeks.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
