Alleged victim, forensic expert testify in Raymond teacher sex exploitation trial

As the woman took the stand, she pointed out who Jentry or “J.J.” was. She began by describing how she first met him in the 9th grade when he brought the Raymond senior girls basketball team to her school. She called Salmon a “fun coach” who made trips and sports exciting.

When the woman entered high school, she joined rugby, volleyball and basket ball. She described to the court how she received a concussion during a rugby game in the 10th grade and Salmon was the one who set up an appointment with a Lethbridge specialist and took her to and from that appointment with her parents’ knowledge.

In the Spring of 2016, the woman told the court Salmon added her and a few other girls to a smartphone application called Snapchat, which allows users to send messages, pictures and videos to another user that automatically erase in a very short period of time- sometimes seconds. It was in this way; the woman told the court she mainly communicated with Salmon to eventually arrange meetings between them.

By late spring and early summer of 2016, the woman testified she and salmon were sending messages to one another every day. And while she could not play rugby for the time being, Salmon opened the school gym at night for students to play basketball. Sometimes, she would be the only student there, and the two would get Slurpees, meet at the local senior’s lodge and drive around in his truck. All of it was arranged, she said, through Snapchat.

Crown Prosecutor Dawn Janicke asked the woman what the two would do when they drove around the area- either in his truck or in her car. She told the court how the two would talk about sports, play cards, and talk about other members of the three teams to which she belonged. They would pick locations to stop and spend time together, near a canal, water tower, an area called “The Ridge,” and other locations.

Janicke also asked whether the two ever consumed alcohol together, to which the woman replied they did not, because it was against the rules of her religion. However, she did tell the court Salmon allegedly gave her Adderall pills on two occasions, and he smoked marijuana on another occasion.

The woman testifying also described physical contact between the two, including hugging, cuddling on the ground on top of blankets and in the back of his truck when he brought blankets, rubbing and him kissing her on the cheek and neck “about five times.’

The alleged relationship continued into the summer of 2016 and into her Grade 12 year in September. However, by that time, the woman told the court the married Salmon was no longer her basketball coach and that her parents had become suspicious because of gossip spreading throughout the school. She denied the relationship initially to her parents, for fear of being caught. Salmon, she told the court, also became worried about what her parents might do.

By mid-October however, the 19-year-old’s parents decided to meet with the high school principle and on October 18, they went to Raymond RCMP. The woman testified that the first time she talked to police she did not tell them everything for fear of getting Salmon in trouble. A female officer then gave her an article to read on “grooming,” and on October 23, 2016 she once again met with RCMP. By that time, she said, her trust in Salmon was gone.

On Monday, forensic analyst James LaFontaine, with the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT)’s Child Exploitation Unit whose task it was to look for information about the users of six electronic devices, based on a luring allegation.

LaFontaine testified he began imaging or extracting data from six devices including three apple iPhones, an iPod, and iPad and a Samsung phone. On all the devices, he was searching for the Snapchat application, along with any text or iMessages potentially connecting Salmon with the alleged victim.

Dozens of text messages were found, including some that were initially deleted, however the context of those messages could not be determined. Upon cross examination, LaFontaine admitted that there were no movies, photos, images that were sexualized or related to child luring. He also admitted that he could not find the Snapchat application, and wasn’t able to determine whether it had been deleted from any of the devices.

Additional Crown witnesses are expected to be called throughout the rest of the week. Defense arguments are expected to get underway next week.

by Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Alleged victim, forensic expert testify in Raymond teacher sex exploitation trial

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