Former high school teacher convicted of sex-related offences

Superior Court of Justice building in Windsor, Ont on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)

A former high school teacher has been convicted of sex related offences.

A Windsor-Essex jury found Ryan Turgeon, 39, guilty of sexual exploitation and making sexually explicit material available to a minor.

These two charges were in relation to offences against the first complainant on the indictment.

For the remaining charges – all for alleged offences against the second complainant – the jury found Turgeon not guilty.

Those charges include sexual exploitation, making sexually explicit material available to a minor, accessing child pornography and communicating with a minor.

“The Crown will seek a significant jail sentence at Mr. Turgeon’s sentencing hearing to ensure the ongoing safety of our students in school,” Assistant Crown Attorney Jayme Lesperance told CTV News in a statement. “Students are our most precious commodity in society, they must be protected and this type of offence must be specifically deterred.”

The jury learned Turgeon taught both complainants between 2015 and 2019 at Catholic Central High School where he taught religion, civics and careers and drama.

Both complainants testified during the trial.

While both struggled with specific timelines for certain events, the defence argued the second complainant “should not be trusted full stop”.

Dean Embry argued the second complainants evidence changed over time and was based on a “chance meeting” on Grindr.

Embry was also critical of the second complainant for having a fake Grindr account in which he would have had to lie about his age.

As for the first complainant, Embry told the jury it would be “tempting” to believe him just “because he was better on the stand”, but he warned the jurors that certain timelines in this complainants story also didn’t make sense.

After the verdict, Embry and Turgeon declined to comment.

A date for sentencing will now be set for Turgeon.

According to the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, Turgeon is no longer an employee of the board and his status is listed as “inactive/non-practicing” by the College of Teachers.