A Grade 12 student has been charged after a police investigation into harassment against a teacher who was bombarded with sexually explicit messages — including intimate images of her generated by artificial intelligence.
The Winnipeg Police Service arrested a 17-year-old male on June 20 and charged him with one count each of criminal harassment, cybercrime-related mischief and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.
He is also accused of making, printing, publishing, circulating and possessing explicit material.
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“The emotional toll of this has been so huge,” said a newly certified teacher as she described the “sickening” messages she started receiving during her final practicum in the River East Transcona School Division.
“I’m now uncomfortable in my own body because this happened to me.”
The 24-year-old woman contacted police in early April to report explicit content that had been sent to her from anonymous accounts on Instagram.
At the time, she had just begun a five-week placement at an RETSD high school — one of the last requirements for her now-complete education degree.
During her placement and afterwards, she said she received AI-generated nude images of herself, photos of male genitalia and masturbation videos she believes were recorded by the accused.
“I raped you last week when j (sic) drugged you in your sleep lmao,” said one message viewed by the Free Press.
Despite blocking upwards of 10 “burner accounts,” the teacher said she continued to be targeted via her personal Instagram page, which is private, and a public account for sharing her artwork.
Const. Pat Saydak confirmed police have laid charges, but he declined to provide additional detail because of the laws in place to protect youth.
Saydak issued a statement saying the police force has recorded an uptick in reports involving “the misuse of artificial intelligence.”
“We encourage anyone who believes they are a victim of online harassment or image-based abuse to report it to police promptly so that evidence can be preserved and appropriate action taken,” he said, noting these incidents can have significant impacts on victims.
The teacher said she’s found it increasingly difficult to regulate her emotions since the harassment began.
She cried during a phone interview as she described how she’s been unable to focus, feels intense irritability and experiences random bouts of anger.
“I should be proud of myself for graduating. I should be celebrating, but instead I have to advocate for myself, relentlessly, just to try to get some justice and peace of mind,” she said.
Superintendent Sandra Herbst said the accused was immediately banned from participating in end-of-year activities when the division learned about the criminal investigation on June 22.
School leaders were “deeply saddened” by the situation and reached out to the woman “to extend empathy, support and listening,” Herbst said.
She said RETSD has been co-ordinating with the teacher’s university and the Manitoba Teachers’ Society to ensure there are no gaps in counselling and related support.
The new teacher last taught in the division on April 27. She later joined its substitute pool but did not pick up any paid shifts in River East Transcona.
She said she feels anxious about beginning her first professional teaching contract in the fall while advocating for herself in the justice system.
The recent harassment has resurfaced a previous traumatic experience when she was assaulted and charges were stayed against a perpetrator, she noted.
The teacher said she can’t help but feel skeptical the accused will face any real consequences.
The length of the police probe, which required appealing to Meta for user information, has all but certainly diminished the consequences already, she said, noting she was told the teen was suspended when there were 6 1/2 days remaining in the school year calendar.
As far as she is concerned, the teen should not receive credit for the course she co-delivered during the winter term.
“The sickest part of all this is that I had to teach practicum knowing this was probably one of my students and … they were probably getting some kind of sick satisfaction — me teaching them, treating them with kindness and respect while they were doing this,” she said.
Herbst said provincial policy is “really, really clear” that students can only be flunked if they do not submit evidence of their academic learning.
“Non-academic factors — attendance, punctuality, attitude, effort and behaviour — are not used to determine grades,” the superintendent said.
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The division’s code of conduct indicates students who fail to adhere to RETSD policies on the appropriate use of the internet, AI-generated content and social media “will result in an intervention, response, and/or consequence.”
This criminal case highlights broader concerns about educators experiencing growing levels of violence, harassment and abuse, said Lillian Klausen, president of the teachers society representing 17,000 educators in Manitoba.
Seven in 10 teachers in a recent membership survey reported that violence has increased during their careers.
The majority of respondents indicated incident severity has increased, violence is making their jobs more difficult and administrators are not taking the problem “as seriously as they should.”
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter
Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.
Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.
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