A former Vernon, B.C. teacher charged with sex offences involving a young male student will face a new trial next month, as well as two new perjury charges.
Court proceedings against 46-year-old Deborah Ashton ended in a mistrial in February, with jurors unable to reach a unanimous decision. A date for a new trial will be set May 16.
Ashton faces three charges including sexual assault and invitation to sexual touching with a person under 14.
She's accused of sexual incidents with a boy who was 12 and in her Grade 7 class starting in 2002.
Ashton, who has two children of her own, allegedly had roughly 200 encounters with the boy, many involving sexual intercourse. She was arrested in 2008.
During the trial, Ashton testified in her own defence, denying all the charges against her, calling them ridiculous.
The alleged victim has testified he was not forced into a sexual relationship, though he would have been too young to legally consent.
Ashton was also charged with two counts of perjury on Friday. She told CTV News on Monday that the RCMP abused their power, saying that she was removed from the hospital and placed in police lock-up for more than five hours before being questioned on the new charges.
She also says a member of the original trial jury was an acquaintance of her ex-husband, but failed to disclose it.
Outside the court, she told reporters her former spouse coached one of the juror's sons.
With files from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
