Regina teacher accused of sex crimes with high school student found not guilty

A judge has dismissed all charges against former Regina teacher Jeffrey Dumba, who was accused of five sexual offenses against a high school student.

The verdict was announced by King’s Court Judge Neil Robertson on Tuesday morning.

The five charges relate to interactions Dumba allegedly had online and in text with a 15-year-old girl between June 23, 2021 and September 2, 2021. His name cannot be given due to a publication ban by court order.

The charges include soliciting, counseling or encouraging a minor to touch himself or herself for a sexual purpose, communicating with the intent to facilitate the commission of a crime, distributing sexually explicit material to a minor, and possession of child pornography.

In his ruling, Robertson said he was satisfied, based on the evidence presented, that Dumba had taken reasonable steps to ascertain the girl’s age before engaging in sexual intercourse and that the Crown had failed to successfully prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Dumba had attempted to do so. having sexual communication or intercourse with a minor.

Robertson said he was pleased that Dumba stopped sexual contact and deleted the pictures of the girl after learning her real age.

“The evidence of both the defendant and the complainant agree that the defendant immediately told the complainant that she needed to stop their online dealings,” Robertson said.

Robertson also said he had reasonable suspicions that Dumba continued to share sexually explicit images, possessed child pornography or invited the girl to his home for sexual purposes.

The judge also expressed concern about the credibility and trustworthiness of the girl’s testimony; this made it “unsafe” to convict Dumba based on his testimony.

“Based on my findings, I deny all charges.”