The second trial for a B.C. teacher accused of sexually assaulting one of her elementary school students has ended with the defence suggesting the alleged victim made up the whole story.
Deborah Ashton, 47, of Vernon is accused of having roughly 200 sexual encounters with a student beginning in 2003, when she was a teacher and basketball coach at Mission Hill and the alleged victim was in her Grade 7 class. She faces charges of sexual assault and sexual interference with a person under the age of 14.
In B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday, Ashton's lawyer Terry LaLiberte questioned the alleged victim's credibility during his closing submissions. Outside the court, he suggested that the young man, now 22, has been caught in a lie he started telling years ago to impress his friends.
"How's he going to resile from that? He's got to be embarrassed to tell all his friends he was a liar. He's going to be castigated by all his peers. So he's stuck with a lie. He's painted himself into a corner and as years go by there's not much he can do," LaLiberte said.
Crown prosecutors have acknowledged that there were inconsistencies in the young man's testimony, but said his story rings true nonetheless.
Earlier in the trial, Ashton's ex-husband Mike Jellema testified that his relationship with the accused began to fall apart at the time the alleged assaults began. He claimed that he found condoms in the couple's en suite bathroom and hid in a closet to discover the alleged victim visiting his house alone.
The judge hearing the case is expected to deliver her decision Wednesday.
Ashton's last trial ended a year ago when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
