Case worker for drug addicted teens on trial for sexual assault

A youth counsellor working with teens at a secure detox facility is on trial in Calgary, accused of initiating a sexual relationship with a girl who was struggling with drug addiction.

Jessica Ossais, 29, faces charges of sexual assault and sexual interference for incidents that allegedly took place in 2019 against the teen, who was in the program for the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs (PChAD). 

Ossais was one of the alleged victim's case workers at the time.

Under Alberta legislation, parents who have children struggling with addictions can apply to the courts for a PChAD protection order, which allows for the child to be taken to a secure facility to detox for up to 15 days. They go through counselling and other programs.

The complainant was 17 years old at the time of the alleged assaults. Her identity is protected by a publication ban. 

Defence lawyer James Hawkins has not yet presented his case or called any witnesses. None of the allegations have been proven. 

Flirtatious comments

In 2019, the young woman, then a teen, was admitted into the involuntary rehab program twice, in February and again in April. 

On Monday, the now-21-year-old testified, telling Justice Heather Lamoureux that Ossais was responsible for helping her get through daily routines and tasks. 

The relationship changed when Ossais began making flirtatious comments, the young woman testified. 

As the teen was getting ready to leave the program after her February stint, she said Ossais told her she wanted to stay in touch. The two exchanged contact information. 

The witness said she began using drugs again. 

Hotel stay

One afternoon, Ossais travelled to Lethbridge to meet the teen, according to the witness. The two spent the night together at a local hotel, she testified. 

"[Ossais] made me go in the side door, I'm guessing so the cameras wouldn't see me," the witness told prosecutor Tiffany Dwyer. 

After the incident in the hotel, the teen was sent back to the program in Calgary. 

Once there, she said, Ossais would "make out" with her, but the case worker would always push her away from closed-circuit TV cameras. 

"I don't think I understood what was happening," she told Dwyer. 

'I denied it for a long time'

Staff at the facility became concerned about Ossais's relationship with the teen, whose mother had, by then, found an Instagram message she considered to be "unacceptable and unethical."

But when police initially questioned the girl in 2019, she says she "tried to protect" Ossais.

"I denied it for a long time … at the time, I thought it was OK," she said. 

"I wasn't thinking clear, I wasn't able to make good decisions for myself."

The young woman says it was only when she got clean that she realized what had happened.

Under cross-examination by Hawkins, the defence lawyer, the witness acknowledged there were gaps in her memory due to time and drug use.