Substitute teacher at Winnipeg junior high school charged with sexual assault of student, police say

Police have charged a man with sexual assault after he allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a student while he was a teacher at a Winnipeg junior high school.

The relationship, which police said included sexual communication using social media, lasted for seven months between 2021 and 2022 while the teenage girl was a student at Acadia Junior High.

On one occasion, the 32-year-old teacher allegedly tried to kiss the girl at school, but she pulled away and ran, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release on Tuesday. The girl was not physically injured during the incidents, the release said.

Police said their child abuse unit got a report about the sexual assault and luring of the teenage girl in October and arrested the suspect, Jan Marcopined Laya, on Saturday. He was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching.

Acadia Junior High is located on Killarney Avenue in south Winnipeg's Fort Richmond area. The school's website says it teaches students from Grade 7 to Grade 9.

The girl's age was not released, but the charges against Laya include luring a person under 14 by means of telecommunication and doing the same to a person under 16.

Laya, who was described by police as "a former teacher of Acadia Junior High" at the time of his arrest, was also charged with transmitting, making available, distributing or selling sexually explicit material to a person under 16. He was released on a release order with conditions that he doesn't contact or communicate with anyone under 18.

Lisa Boles, superintendent and chief executive officer of the Pembina Trails School Division, said Laya was acting as a substitute teacher at the time of the alleged offences.

Boles said interim measures were implemented when the police informed the school division about the charges against the teacher, but did not say what those measures were.

She said the division treats the allegations seriously but said it can't release any other information.

"Care and concern for students and staff remains our focus.  Support personnel, the clinical team and the school team will be available at the school as needed," Boles said in an emailed statement.

Police said anyone who wants to talk to an investigator can call the child abuse unit at 204-986-3296. Supports are also available through the police service's victim services at 204-986-6350 and the Klinic Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 204-786-8631.