Former KPRDS educational assistant sentenced for sexual exploitation

Warning: This article contains graphic, sexual language that some readers may find offensive and disturbing. Discretion is advised. 

Former Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board educational assistant (EA) Karen Bagshaw was handed a lengthy prison sentence on Friday, Oct. 11.

The court sentenced Bagshaw to a total of seven years in prison, and a lifetime of being on the sex offender registry, for sexually exploiting two former teenage students.

This comes after the Crown had asked that Bagshaw serve a eight- to nine-year sentence in August.

Bagshaw’s 10-day trial happened in April, and concluded with her being found guilty of two counts of sexual exploitation, sexual interference, sexual invitation to sexual touching, luring, accessing child pornography, and making explicit material available.

During the trial, court heard testimony from numerous witnesses, including the two victims, who are now adults. They testified that Bagshaw befriended them during their time in intermediate school and that, by the time they had reached high school, she was having numerous sexual encounters — both oral and vaginal — with both of the victims.

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She also allegedly brought them on shopping sprees and purchased alcohol and drugs, court heard.

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One of the victims testified that his first sexual encounter with Bagshaw was inside a car when he was 15 and that, by Grade 10, they were having sex regularly in her car as well as in hotels, his garage, portable toilets and public parks. He also told court he and the other victim had threesomes with Bagshaw “maybe five or six times.”

The other victim told court he was routinely having sex with Bagshaw when he was in Grade 10.

Several other charges from the April trial were dropped, as the judge said evidence failed to clarify if one of the victims was under the age of 16 at the time.

The incidents took place from 2013 to 2015. A publication ban prevents media from identifying the victims of the offences.