Testimony of mom of alleged victim of sexual assault by ex-teacher

by Shuyee Lee

The mother of  a young man who claims he was sexually assaulted by his ex-teacher while he was her student in high school north of Montreal said she was afraid the accused had too much influence on her son and was trying to steal him away from her.

Tania Pontbriand, 40, faces three charges of sexual assault of and sexual contact with a minor while in a position of authority. The former Rosemere High School teacher pleaded not guilty to the alleged crimes that happened between 2002 and 2004. The alleged victim was 15 at the time and she was twice his age. Since he was a minor, neither he nor his mother can be identified.

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The mother testified candidly for about an hour and a half, telling the court she was totally shocked when her 15-year-old son came home from a school biking trip in spring 2002 and announced he had a new best friend – Pontbriand, his gym and leadership teacher.

The mother testified she loved her son, now 25, and that he was happy and she couldn’t stop him from being happy.

Source : examiner