Alleged victim challenged in former Regina teacher's sex crimes trial

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Jeffrey Dumba realized he was communicating with a student at the Regina high school where he taught.

But the issue that emerged at trial concerns precisely when he reached this understanding during communications that allegedly included the exchange of sexual images and videos, and what happened afterward.

Dumba, 52, is accused of five crimes, all dated between June 23, 2021 and September 2, 2021.

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These include an allegation that he invited, advised or enticed the alleged victim, who was under 16 at the time, to touch himself for a sexual purpose.

Other charges allege he communicated with a minor for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offense, distributed sexually explicit material to a minor and possessed child pornography.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and his trial began Monday in the Court of King's Bench in Regina.

The trial continued Thursday, when the defense attorney Darren Kraushaar has completed his cross-examination of Dumba's alleged victim. She cannot be identified pursuant to a court order.

According to her previous testimony, she and the teacher began communicating electronically when she “added” him as a contact on social media. She told the court neither party was aware of the other's identity at first, but she had sent a photo of her face and indicated she was a high school student from the start. She testified that a sexualized exchange occurred before and after Dumba acknowledged that he knew her full identity and that she was his — a position she maintained Thursday.

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Kraushaar challenged her account and memory, laying out a defense theory that Dumba initially believed the alleged victim was older and that he attempted to end the sexual relationship after realizing her identity, despite her persistence.

She admitted to initially lying about her age to her teacher. She, however, denied telling her teacher she was in her twenties, saying she had only added a year, telling him she was in her second half of her teens. Kraushaar She showed her technical data associated with one of the Snapchat accounts she used to communicate with Dumba, noting that it included a date of birth that would have placed her in her twenties at the time of the incident.

When asked why she lied about her age, she replied: “I don't really think there's a reason for it.”

She also testified that her “full name” would have been visible on the social media account she used to initially add Dumba. However, Kraushaar pointed out to her that the data extracted by the police only showed her first name. She responded that this display name could be changed at any time.

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The alleged victim had said students at her school did not wear masks at the end of the school year before the alleged events, but Kraushaar challenged her, pointing out that a mask mandate was in place, potentially in an attempt to sow doubt that his client would have known what the girl's face looked like.

Kraushaar pointed out that a previous witness said the alleged victim showed him photos of Dumba and said the relationship with the teacher continued, when they returned to school after the summer.

She denied telling her friend about the situation or bragging about it, but told the defense attorney that she revealed what happened, first to her cousin and then to a “stranger” – a student – who asked her about it outside of school.

Kraushaar suggested that “it made no sense” that she would tell a stranger but not her close friend.

She didn't agree with Kraushaar suggested that Dumba stopped all sexual conversations after discovering his identity, and denied that she was upset that the professor was no longer speaking to her the way she wanted.

The defense attorney asked her if she remembered telling Dumba, “I always get what I want.”

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“I'm sure I said that,” she replied, but added that she didn't know why she said it.

Kraushaar suggested the statement was a threat to his client, who had told him he did not want to speak to her.

“Again, I disagree,” she said.

Kraushaar withsuggested that the alleged victim did not want her cousin to tell police that she had found Dumba and hidden his identity – something she denied in court.

An attempt by the defence to play his cousin's statement to police in court prompted an objection from the Crown and tears from the witness.

This statement was not released. The accused began his testimony on the deadline.

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