A Guelph teacher originally facing several sex-related charges involving a child will face the minimum sentence after pleading guilty to one of the charges.
Justin Lenssen, 33, was originally charged last year with possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation, luring a child and making explicit material available after an incident involving a female student at a Guelph high school.
On Monday, Lenssen apologized for his actions in a Guelph courtroom after a guilty plea was entered for the charge of making sexually explicit material available to a child. The other charges were dropped.
Defence and the Crown both recommended the minimum sentence of 90 days in prison and the Crown agreed to allow Lenssen to serve the sentence intermittently, two days a week, in part to facilitate supervised visitation with his young daughter.
In the agreed statement of facts, the situation started last December with Lenssen commenting on a the victim’s Instagram account. He then asked for her Snapchat account and began a discussion there.
Snapchat is a phone app that allows individuals to chat with each other and send photos and video, with those communications disappearing shortly after.
During the Snapchat discussion the student told Lenssen he was attractive and he responded by saying that she was too. He then told her he was getting "worked up" before sending her video of his penis and of him masturbating.
The student took screen shots of the videos before they disappeared. Snapchat sends a notification to senders, letting them know when screenshots are taken of their messages.
Lenssen responded by telling the victim he hoped she wasn’t taking screen shots and told the student he was scared and shaking.
The student went to police and an investigation started Dec. 10. Lenssen was arrested on Dec. 11.
Defence attorney Erin Dann noted this was a first offence for Lenssen, that the offence was not a prolonged grooming effort, but a crime of opportunity over a single night and that there was no direct contact between the victim and Lenssen.
She said Lenssen was at a low point at the time of the offence after the break up of a personal relationship and was living with his parents, said Dann. He was also financially stressed and in spring 2018 went from full time to part-time employment.
Dann said Lenssen understands the personal and professional impact that pleading guilty will have on Lenssen and noted he will face disciplinary action from the Ontario College of Teachers and will likely lose his license to teach.
She said Lenssen took responsibility for his actions by turning himself in to police, pleading guilty and entering counselling.
After the guilty plea, Justice Edward Graham asked Lenssen if he would like to address the court. Lenssen read from a prepared statement and said he apologizes to the student, his school, the school board, family and friends and that he recognizes the impact of his actions.
“I let all of them down and did a great disservice to my profession,” Lenssen told the court.
He said the student did the right thing by going to police.
A victim impact statement was presented to the judge, but not read in open court.
A number of letters were also presented in support of Lenssen from friends, family and his department head.
Graham agreed to the sentence recommendation and said he believed the remorse shown by Lenssen was genuine. By pleading guilty, the student has been spared the added trauma of a trial, said Graham.
In his experience, Graham said, many offenders facing similar charges do not take the same level of ownership that Lenssen has.
“That is somewhat refreshing,” said Graham.
On the other side of the equation, Graham noted the offence was a clear abuse of trust and that the rumour mill within a high school environment would be an added burden on the victim.
Lenssen must also submit a sample of his DNA and will appear on a sex offender registry for 10 years and must continue counselling.
After the 90-day sentence, Lenssen will on probation for two years.
