MONTREAL- Tania Pontbriand's legal team went on the offensive on Wednesday and began dissecting her former student and alleged lover's private life leading up to their illicit affair.
A former Rosemere High School teacher, Pontbriand, 41, stands accused of sexually exploiting one of her teenage students nearly a decade ago.
The former student admits that he was the teacher's favourite, he signed-up for Pontbriand's leadership class in grade 10, during which he did volunteer work.
When asked by the defence if he signed up for the class for extra credit, the student answered: "Not so much about earning brownie points, I was clearly her favourite."
When asked by the defence how he knew she was her favourite, the student answered: "She told me, I remember her telling me."
According to the student, Pontbriand often sat on his desk while speaking to the class and once used him for a CPR demonstration.
In court on Wednesday, the defence repeatedly asked him about specific events the weekend they first had sex, in 2002, as part of a camping field trip. The young man forgot some details about the 10-year-old event.
The exchange grew testy between the alleged victim and the defence. The judge asked the defence several times to be more specific about where exactly the questions were going.
The answer defined the defence's strategy.
"We're just testing his memory, sometimes it takes a hole to demonstrate that he's dreaming the whole thing up."
The repeated questioning of the teenager's life took their toll and he began crying on the stand. The judge called for a recess.
The student will be back on the stand tomorrow.
