Former teacher Johnny Meeko lined girls up and touched their breasts: witness
'Nobody did anything' when she told parents of sex abuse in Sanikiluaq classroom, says witness
Former teacher Johnny Meeko used to line up female students in front of the chalkboard and fondle their chests one-by-one, according to testimony heard in an Iqaluit courtroom Wednesday.
Meeko has pleaded not guilty to 32 sex-related charges, some dating back to the 1980s when he began working as a teacher in Nuiyak Elementary School in Sanikiluaq.
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On the third day of the trial, court heard from two complainants in their late-20s.
Lawyers for the Crown had witnesses draw a diagram of the classroom where it's alleged Meeko sexually abused them and other female students.
One woman testified Meeko used to rub his hands over her chest when she was his Grade 3 student. She told the court Meeko "didn't try to hide" it and that the touching would happen in front of other classmates during free time.
On one occasion, she said Meeko penetrated her with his fingers.
A second woman testified that while she was in his Grade 5 class, Meeko would line up girls in front of the chalkboard. She said Meeko would feel their breasts, one by one. The complainant said she told her parents but "nobody did anything."
Justice Neil Sharkey has now heard testimony from seven of nine complainants.
The identities of the complainants are protected under a publication ban.
The trial continues Thursday.