Tania Pontbriand guilty of sexually assaulting Rosemere student

CTV Montreal: Teacher found guilty of assault Gym teacher Tania Pontbriand was accused of taking advantage of a 15-year-old student.

A former high school teacher has been found guilty of sexually exploiting a student.

Tania Pontbriand was found guilty on Thursday of seducing a 15-year-old boy and continuing a sexual relationship with him for several years.

Judge Valmont Beaulieu rejected the defence's argument that the young victim was unreliable in his 150-page judgment.

"The court is convinced that the accused used the victim to satisfy her own sexual needs, thus exploiting the victim's naiveté, his lack of maturity, his dependence and his trust while he was her student," he wrote.

"The accused dominated her victim who had become completely dependent on her, and trusted her blindly, isolating himself from his friends, losing interest for his studies and causing arguments with his mother."

She was charged in 2008, six years after the relationship began, and the trial faced several delays including having a judge replaced.

Pontbriand was a Phys. Ed. teacher with the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board and was 32 years old when she started abusing her student.

The young man only approached police after the relationship ended, and testified in court that while the abuse was happening he did not realize how damaging it was.

Pontbriand denied that any physical activity ever took place between her and the alleged victim, but evidence presented in court showed that a sleeping bag contained both Pontbriand and the accuser’s bodily fluids.

Crown prosecutor Caroline Lafleur is pleased with the verdict, adding the victim is happy as well.

"I contacted him earlier to tell him the decision," said Lafleur.

She said she will now study the verdict before the sentencing report is handed to the judge on May 8.

"It's a very voluminous decision that the judge surrendered, so we're going to take our time and read it, and we asked for a pre-sentencing report," said Lafleur.

Pontbriand will be back in court on May 8.