B.C. teacher acquitted of sex charges faces perjury trial

A B.C. judge has ruled perjury charges laid against a former Vernon elementary school teacher will go to trial after a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Deborah Ashton, 47, is accused of lying under oath during the first of two trials dealing with the alleged sexual assault of one of her Grade 7 students.

In March, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames found Ashton not guilty in the second trial on five sex-related charges.

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The first trial, held in 2011, ended in a hung jury.

Ashton was charged shortly after the acquittal with two counts of perjury for testimony she gave at the first trial.

The alleged perjured testimony concerns a bracelet the Crown says Ashton bought for her accuser, as well as testimony she gave about how often Ashton may have picked up or dropped off her son from child care.

In 2008, Ashton was charged with allegedly having more than 200 sexual encounters with one of her students over a two-year period, beginning in 2002.

The alleged victim was 12 years old at the time, but is now 22. He cannot be named because of a publication ban.

Source : cbc