Former Alberta teacher found not guilty of sexual exploitation, child luring

Former Raymond high school teacher Jentry Jack Salmon left the Lethbridge courthouse a free man on Thursday after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice E.C. Wilson found him not guilty on two charges.

“I can say it’s the verdict we always expected and obviously hoped for,” Salmon said of the verdict.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I can say it's the verdict we always expected and obviously hoped for," Salmon said of the verdict.

“The thing that’s too bad, for me, is it’s taken two and a half years to get to this point.”

Salmon, 35, was first charged in March 2017 with sexual exploitation and child luring, but on Thursday, it took Wilson fewer than eight minutes to acquit Salmon of those charges.

Wilson cited the alleged victim’s claims of engaging in up to 30 late-night and early morning drives with Salmon as a key part of the testimony in the trial.

During these meetings, the alleged victim stated that physical contact between herself and Salmon took place, testifying that he would bring blankets, that they would cuddle with their legs intertwined and that it was during these alleged meetings that he kissed her on the cheek and neck.

However, in his testimony, Salmon denied these claims, stating these late-night and early morning drives never happened.

Salmon’s wife also testified that those meetings couldn’t have happened, stating her husband was at home and/or in bed with her during these hours.

While delivering his verdict, Wilson described Annalise Salmon as a crucial witness in the case, telling the courtroom that while she has a stake in her husband’s verdict, he didn’t believe her testimony lacked reliability or credibility.

With these findings, Wilson stated that he was led to believe the alleged meetings and, therefore, the process of grooming and exploiting the student did not, in fact, happen.

In 2016, Salmon was suspended from his teaching position at a Raymond high school. Now that the trial is over, he said he’s unsure whether he will return to the teaching profession.

“It’s hard not to feel a little bit jaded and a little bit burned right now,” Salmon said.

“The thing I loved about teaching was the opportunity I had to have good relationships with kids, and it would be hard to put myself in that position right now.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The thing I loved about teaching was the opportunity I had to have good relationships with kids, and it would be hard to put myself in that position right now."

Salmon added that he admits to and accepts responsibility for his professional mistakes, and while he’s unsure of his future career, he added that he will do everything he can to ensure his teaching certificate stays intact.