Former student testifies against high school teacher in ongoing sex offence trial in Windsor

File photo of the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor, Ont., Nov.19, 2013. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)

Warning: Graphic content

Ryan Turgeon, 39, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges against two complainants.

The charges include making sexually explicit material available to a minor, sexual exploitation, possessing, accessing and making child pornography, and communicating with a minor to facilitate a criminal act.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The first complainant (C1) on the indictment testified for the 14-person jury Friday.

A standard, court-ordered publication ban protects the complainant’s identity and the media cannot report any evidence that might identify the complainant.

“I was trying to figure out if I was gay, straight,” the man told the jury when Turgeon was teaching him in Grade 11. “I brought it up to Turgeon’s attention because I was comfortable with Turgeon.”

C1 said Turgeon offered to help him “experiment” during a private conversation, “He was pretty much offering to show sex activities,” C1 testified.

He told the jury he brushed the conversation off because he was “uncomfortable” but admitted he remained “close” with the teacher.

C1 alleges Turgeon also sent him sexually explicit images and videos during his time in high school.

In Grade 12, C1 accuses Turgeon of propositioning him to conduct a sex act with another student, C2.

While he did admit it was “abnormal” behaviour for a teacher, C1 told he jury, “I just kind of kept it to myself.”

He didn’t think anyone would believe him, in part, because the conversations disappeared after being read or seen because they communicated on Snapchat.

The defence perspective

Defence lawyer Dean Embry once again highlighted discrepancies between the complainants testimony at trial versus pre-trial court appearances or the statement to police in March 2021.

For instance, Embry said C1 told police the conversation about experimenting with his sexuality happened in Grade 12 but testified that it was in Grade 11.

C1 also made an error in his testimony about when their Grade 12 class trip was; he said it was in the fall of 2018, when in actuality it would have been the spring of 2018.

Embry further argued C1 is misinterpreting a message sent by Turgeon to his student.

“You know what we talked about stays with us,” Turgeon wrote.

C1 believed that to be Turgeon’s way of telling his student not to tell anyone about their conversations.

Embry believes it’s his clients way of saying C1’s sexuality was a secret his teacher would keep.

The defence is arguing all “sexually explicit” conversations, videos, and pictures didn’t occur until after C1 graduated high school and turned 18 years of age.

The trial is scheduled to continue Monday, but only until 1:00 p.m. because of the solar eclipse.