Teen describes intimate messages with Regina teacher on trial for sexual offences
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Jeffrey Dumba's trial on sex-related charges continued Wednesday in Regina with testimony from the teen who said she exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos with the high school teacher.
She described in court how their messaging on Snapchat, then text messages, began in 2021 and became more intimate over two months.
Dumba, 52, faces charges including inviting a minor to touch herself sexually, distributing sexually explicit material to a minor and possessing child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty.
The identity of the teen, who was 15 at the time, is subject to a publication ban.
On Tuesday, when the teen's testimony began, court watched her initial interview with police on Sept. 2, 2021. Dumba was arrested the next day.
On Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Loren Klein asked the teen about when she met Dumba in person and how she contacted him in the summer months of 2021. The teen said that during the second half of the 2020-21 school year she began to interact with him at school.
She said in late June of 2021, she added him on one of her Snapchat accounts. She said his username was "jiffdumba" and testified she did not know it was him. The teen said she sent him a photo of her face and disclosed that she was in high school.
She said before they revealed who they were to each other, she sent him "intimate images" and that "within a week," they had shared their identities. She said they exchanged phone numbers around this time.
The teen said Dumba called it "the worst situation possible" because she was a student. She said he messaged her something to the effect of, "What's done is done," and that they could continue messaging.
Intimate images
The teen testified that via text messaging, the conversations turned more to a sexual nature. She said she sent between 10 to 15 intimate photos and received five to 10 photos of Dumba's penis.
The teen said she sent sexually intimate videos of herself to him but never received videos from Dumba.
"He would compliment me and say the things he would do to me sexually if I was there. He would talk about oral sex and then having sex with me," the teen said.
She told the court Dumba invited her to his home on three occasions and sent his address once.
The teen said near the start of the school year, Dumba asked her not to text him at school and told her "no weird vibes" and that he was in a "happy relationship."
The Crown showed the girl a file from her phone titled "My Eyes Only" where she had saved pictures she said were of Dumba's penis.
The teen identified a nude image as being her and a separate photo of a blanket belonging to her which was taken as evidence. She said the nude photo also had the blanket in it.
Teen cries as she describes aftermath
Near the end of Klein's questioning, the teen broke down as she described how the events had impacted her, including her relationship with her mother and experiences at school.
"Once it happened, it destroyed my life. I lost friends. I lost my high school experience. I lost the trust and support of my parents."
On Wednesday afternoon, Dumba's lawyer Darren Kraushaar cross-examined the teen.
He asked her about a schoolmate and former friend who testified Monday that the teen showed her images leading the friend to go to the school resource officer.
The girl denied discussing the issue with the friend, only asking her to shut down any rumours.
The teen said at school she told a male student who she was not close with about details of the relationship with Dumba, and Kraushaar suggested "that makes no sense."
Kraushaar asked the teen if she showed her mother Dumba's Instagram, as her mother had testified. The teen denied this.
He asked her if she told a relative she wanted to have sex with Dumba, and the teen responded, "yes."
The trial continues Thursday.
