P.E.I. French teacher acquitted in classroom sexual touching case

A French teacher in Prince Edward Island has been acquitted of all charges after the judge found the Crown did not bring forward any evidence to suggest the teacher’s touching of a student in a classroom was sexual in nature. 

Roger M’bahia, 49, was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference last fall after an incident that happened a few days prior at École Pierre-Chaisson, a K-12 French school in western P.E.I.

Throughout two days of the trial held in January, the court heard a student was sitting at his desk with an object in his lap. M’bahia reached out to touch the object, and in the process, the student told the court he believed the teacher touched his genitals. 

The student said the touch was quick, but made him feel uncomfortable. 

After the Crown rested its case at the end of the second day, M’bahia’s lawyer, Alison Ménard, asked the judge to acquit her client based on a lack of evidence presented by the Crown, which holds the burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt. 

The trial was scheduled to continue Thursday and Friday, but bilingual New Brunswick Judge Nicole Angers began Thursday by speaking for 30 minutes from the bench. 

In French, she told the room she carefully considered the motion to acquit and outlined her thought process. 

In the end, Angers ordered a directed verdict of acquittal on both charges because the Crown did not advance any proof that M’bahia’s touch carried sexual intention.

“That’s significant. It’s only happened twice in my career and I’ve been working for 30 years,” Ménard told reporters outside the courthouse. 

“I think ultimately today, justice was shown in the end.”

WATCH | Judge to rule in March on motion to acquit P.E.I. teacher on sex crimes:

Judge to rule in March on motion to acquit P.E.I. teacher on sex crimes

The lawyer for a teacher accused of sexual assault has asked the judge to acquit her client based on a lack of evidence presented by the Crown, even as more details emerged in court about Roger M’Bahia’s time at Ecole Pierre-Chiasson. CBC’s Nicola MacLeod explains.

‘Devastating experience’ for new teacher

M’bahia is in Canada on a work permit and was hired to teach at the school operated by the province’s French education authority, the Commission scolaire de langue française (CSLF), a few days after the school year began in September.

Within three weeks, he was out of the classroom on administrative leave and charged with criminal offences by the RCMP, which meant he had to stay in Canada and await his court proceedings while his wife and four children were back home in Cote D’Ivoire. 

During the trial, students told the court there were other incidents or behaviours of M’bahia’s they found odd or inappropriate. They said he spoke loudly or put his hands on students in a way they believe was unwarranted. 

They said he was not like their other teachers and had different expectations about decorum and classroom conduct, such as how frequently they could get up and walk around or leave to use the washroom.

Many of the students in the small class were anglophones attending a francophone school and learning French as a second language, while M’bahia is a unilingual francophone. 

During the trial, Ménard noted this caused misunderstandings or communication barriers.

”It’s obvious from the evidence the students gave that they did not like this teacher and that they rebelled against this teacher and complained about this teacher,” she said after the acquittal was handed down.

“That’s been quite a devastating experience for him. He’s a teacher with excellent credentials, he had an excellent approach in the classroom and at this time his circumstances and his ability to work are definitely in question.”

Ménard said she did not know what was next for her client or whether he would be staying in Canada, but that he would in all likelihood be leaving the province. 

M’bahia was not being held in custody, but had been wearing an ankle monitor since he was charged. That monitor was removed Thursday morning, and he walked out of the courthouse free.

”We have to be very careful in how we address complaints that might appear to be of a sexual nature, whether that’s against a teacher or somebody else in the community,” Ménard said.

”I think socially we’ve gone through a period where the mantra was ‘believe her, believe them’ which isn’t an excellent criteria when we’re in the justice system to determine if somebody is guilty of an offence, a criminal offence, beyond a reasonable doubt.

“These offences, as much as any, require very careful investigation and consideration before they’re brought to the court.”

In an email to CBC News, the RCMP said it does not comment on court outcomes.