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By DON MACPHERSON
macpherson.don@dailygleaner.com

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School District 18 officials testified Tuesday that a former Leo Hayes High School teacher assistant facing a sex-crime allegation involving a student was in a position of responsibility over students.

Jonathan Samuel Staples, 35, of Zealand was in provincial court Tuesday to stand trial on a charge that he touched a young person sexually between April 1-30, 2007, while he was in a position of trust or authority over that young person.

Leo Hayes principal Kevin Pottle testified the student in question and the boy's mother came to him May 24, 2007, to report some concerns about Staples, who was working as a teacher assistant at the high school at the time.

Based on that conversation, he said, he contacted the city police and Karen Morton, the district's director of human resources.

After a meeting later that afternoon between Staples, himself and Morton, Pottle said, Staples was "reassigned to home."

Morton said she "advised him his services were no longer required."

Pottle said while teachers and teacher assistants (TAs) have different responsibilities, TAs and other school employees as well as volunteers do have responsibilities to students, as outlined in District 18's Policy 701.

That policy governs student protection and safety, and it outlines what constitutes abuse and misconduct toward students.

That includes: "behaviour of a sexual nature with pupils such as: making or accepting sexual advances or invitations, asking for a date, touching inappropriately or having sexual relationship; (or) behaviour which is considered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect of a child whether or not the child is a pupil in the public school system," the policy states.

Morton said all those applying for jobs with the school district have to fill out a questionnaire on the principles and rules listed in Policy 701.

She produced the questionnaire that Staples had filled out, which was entered as an exhibit with the court.

Leo Hayes vice-principal Nathalie Capson-Daniels said that as adults in the school system, teacher assistants definitely have responsibilities to the students.

"Obviously, they're in a position of authority over students," she testified Tuesday.

All the school officials testified it doesn't appear as though Staples served as a TA with any class of which the complainant was a member.

Ken Sprague, 29, Staples's boyfriend of more than five years, testified that the student called Staples on a Sunday night in April 2007 looking for a place to stay, either because he'd been kicked out of his home or he stormed out.

Sprague said it would be OK for the teenager to stay at his place, as his parents were away for the night. Staples drove to pick the boy up, he said.

After the student had arrived at Sprague's residence, he said, the boy made a pass at him when they were alone at one point.

"He started coming on to me," Sprague said, noting he rejected those advances.

"Eventually, he leaned in and tried to kiss me."

Later that evening, he, Staples and the student were all just hanging out and talking on Sprague's bed.

Sprague said when it was time for bed, the student didn't want to leave the room to go to sleep in a separate room that had been set up for him.

"He was really resistant. He kept trying to talk us into letting him stay," he said.

In the following weeks, Sprague said, he communicated with the boy online.

He said the teen wanted to meet him alone to talk about something in person, and when Staples learned of that, the accused admitted to his boyfriend he and the boy had kissed.

"He said it had only happened once ... I was angry, only for a second," Sprague said.

Later, the boy told Sprague the intimate contact between him and Staples had gone much further than just kissing.

Leo Hayes teacher Brenda Cameron testified she saw Staples and the boy arrive together on school grounds one day.

She said the boy didn't seem upset or in distress as he got out of Staples's car.

RCMP forensic computer analyst Payman Hakimian testified that he recovered 22 relevant MSN Messenger chat logs from the student's computer.

Those chats were between the student and Staples, him and Sprague, and between him and another individual.

Hakimian said he also examined Staples's cellphone and thumb drive.

He found that the student was listed on the cellphone directory and there was a record of calls between Staples's phone and the teenager's phone.

Hakimian said his examination of the boy's computer also led to the discovery of some images that constituted child pornography.

When defence lawyer Edward Derrah asked him if the boy had been charged as a result of that discovery, Hakimian said he didn't know, noting such decisions are left to police officers and prosecutors.

The trial continues Nov. 25, at which time the teenage complainant is scheduled to testify.