Father of alleged victim testifies in Raymond teacher sex exploitation case

Among some of the questions Crown Prosecutor Dawn Janicke asked the father included when he first met “J.J.” Salmon, what his relationship with him was, when he and his wife were made aware of any potentially inappropriate relationship and what actions they took.

The man told the court he knew of Salmon for a period of time prior to meeting him when his daughter’s junior high basketball team interacted with the local high school team.

When his daughter suffered a concussion while playing rugby, he told the court how he was upset that neither he nor the girl’s mother were consulted prior to him setting up an appointment with a Lethbridge specialist.

The father also described how his daughter apparently became involved in “high school girl drama,” and that one time, he saw a tweet from someone named “Jack” that referred to her in a derogatory way. It was not made clear who “Jack” might be.

He went on to describe how he found out his daughter would take pictures of things like barbequing steak and send them to a “J.J.” on Snapchat, and that the person had become a sort of confidante to his daughter.

The father testified that he became concerned about his daughter’s behavior over the summer and early fall of 2016, as her school work began to suffer, and she withdrew from what would normally be regular group activities.

He and his wife also became upset about a conversation with another school teacher, they confronted their daughter about what might be going on between her and Salmon. He said his daughter told them nothing was going on between her and Salmon at first.

In late September 2016, his daughter rolled her vehicle along a gravel road at night, and it was shortly after the incident that the man says he was contacted by Salmon to see if his daughter was ok.

He testified that he wondered how Salmon was able to find out about what had happened so quickly. Just before Thanksgiving, the father told the court he and his wife confronted his daughter again, and that time, more information about the alleged relationship was revealed and that they “were thinking the worst.”

It was then that the parents decided to confiscate her cell phone and nearly every other electronic device that might be used to communicate on social media.

Not long after, the parents arranged for a meeting with the high school principle who informed them that Salmon had admitted to meeting privately with the girl “five different times.”

By mid-October 2016, the father told the court, they had reported what they knew to local RCMP.

An investigation was initiated and Salmon was charged on Feb. 17, 2017.

Upon cross examination, the teen’s dad was asked repeatedly about several different conversations or events, including an alleged meeting with Salmon in his office at the high school to address bullying issues in relation to his daughter and whether Salmon should continue to coach one of the sports teams.

“I don’t recall,” testified the father several times.

The Crown is expected to wrap up its case Thursday afternoon, and on Monday, March 25, the Defense is expected to call its witnesses.

The trial is scheduled to last until the end of next week.

by Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Father of alleged victim testifies in Raymond teacher sex exploitation case

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