Crown recommends acquittal on 1 charge against former educational assistant in Whitehorse

Warning: This story contains details some people may find distressing.

Citing a lack of evidence, the Crown prosecutor in the trial of a former educational assistant at Whitehorse's Hidden Valley Elementary School has asked the judge that William Auclair-Bellemare be acquitted on a charge of sexual assault. 

It seemed to mark an unusual end to the three-day trial on Wednesday, which heard from four witnesses over allegations of sexual abuse against a student. Crown prosecutor Caroline Lirette said she was unable to find enough evidence that there had been any physical contact between the alleged victim and Auclair-Bellemare, adding that she had a legal duty to invite acquittal. 

Auclair-Bellemare stood trial this week on two other charges: invitation to sexual touching and forcible confinement against a student. The alleged incident took place between 2015 and 2017.

The alleged victim, a student, in this week's trial described being taken by Auclair-Bellemare from a classroom to a change room that was not being used. 

Auclair-Bellemare allegedly drew a sketch of the child before throwing it away. 

The identity of the child, who appeared in court via video conference on Monday, is covered by a publication ban.

Crown prosecutor Caroline Lirette argued that there was an invitation to sexual touching when Auclair-Bellemare allegedly asked the child to remove their pants and underwear. She said the act constitutes indirect touching as the child had to touch themself or be touched in order to get undressed. She said it meant exposing the child's private parts. 

Lirette asked the judge to recognize the sexual intention that comes with such a request.

She also argued that the alleged victim testified that they felt they had to stay in the changing room — which could constitute forcible confinement. Lirette argued Auclair-Bellemare's intention of confinement was clear when he took the child outside of class without authorization. She argued there's no need to prove the child was physically restrained. 

"Their freedom was limited," Lirette told the court. 

Defence lawyer Kim Arial argued the alleged incident simply never happened.

She claimed the Crown failed to provide substantial witnesses. She also also said there were too many gaps in the memory of the child, who only recalled the alleged incident after a CBC article about sexual abuse at the child's school. 

Lirette pointed to several instances in the child's testimony that seemed unclear or added to fill some void in their memory. She said this wasn't done "with bad intention," but to complete the story and to make sense out of it. 

This week's trial follows an earlier guilty plea by Auclair-Bellemare to a charge involving another student. He was arrested in 2019 after a student told their father that Auclair-Bellemare had been performing "body checks" on them. Auclair-Bellemare pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and was sentenced to six months in jail. 

A 2021 CBC article about a lawsuit filed by the initial victim and his guardian then prompted more students to come forward with similar allegations. 

Auclair-Bellemare pleaded not guilty in May 2022 to the new criminal charges.

What the witnesses said 

The mother of the alleged victim was visibly shaken when she took the stand on Tuesday.

She testified that she questioned her child after reading a CBC article in July 2021 about sexual abuses at the school. That's when the child told her for the first time about the alleged incident.

"They don't lie," the mother told the court after the defence lawyer asked whether their child could have made things up. 

When she mentioned the sexual abuses at the school, the mother said their child repeatedly asked, "Who was it? Who was the teacher? Was it Mister William?" 

Those details were not included in the initial report of abuse. 

The mother confirmed the child said their recollection "might have been a dream," but that a sibling said the child had previously talked about it to them — a detail that was brought forward during the first day of trial during the sibling's testimony. 

The mother also claimed that she never read the news article to the child nor gave any information that might have altered the recollection of the alleged incident. 

Defence argued that both siblings' testimonies suggested the mother did give them details from the CBC article. The alleged victim testified that on the day they told their mother, she described something, the "same thing that happened to me." 

Arial requested that the sibling's testimony not be given any weight as the alleged victim doesn't remember telling them about the alleged incident. 

Arial also questioned why both teachers responsible for the child's classes between 2015 and 2017 hadn't been called as witnesses, as well as one of the child's friends who is believed to have known about the alleged incident.

Only one former teacher took the stand on Tuesday. 

The CBC is not naming the former teacher to protect the identity of the alleged victim. 

The teacher testified that Auclair-Bellemare was helping in class about 75 per cent of the time. They said it wouldn't have been abnormal for Auclair-Bellemare to take a student out of class. The teacher, however, said they couldn't remember if Auclair-Bellemare was ever alone with the alleged victim outside of class.

When the teacher was asked whether they trusted Auclair-Bellemare when they worked with him, they said yes.

Judge Peter Chisholm will deliver his verdict on Oct. 13 in Whitehorse.