Calgary case worker for drug-addicted teens guilty of sexual assault

A former youth counsellor who worked with vulnerable teenagers at a secure detox facility was found guilty on Friday of sexual assault and sexual interference of a girl under her care.

Jessica Ossais, 29, worked as an addiction counselor in the PChAD (Protection of Children Abusing Drugs) program back in 2019.

Under Alberta legislation, parents who have children struggling with addictions can apply to the courts for a PChAD protection order, which allows for the child to be taken to a secure facility to detox for up to 15 days. They go through counselling and other programs.

Justice Heather Lamoureux ruled Ossais is guilty of assaulting the teen in a Lethbridge hotel room in 2019.

The victim was 17 years old at the time of the assault. Her identity is protected by a publication ban.

In 2019, the teen was admitted into the program twice — in February and again in April.

Lethbridge hotel assault 

Ossais was assigned as the girl's case worker and was tasked with helping her get through daily routines and tasks.

The now 21-year-old testified that Ossais became flirtatious during her first stint in PChAD and asked to exchange contact information so they could stay in touch after the teen left the program in February of 2019.

The witness said Ossais traveled to Lethbridge on March 22, 2019, to meet up with her one afternoon following her release from the program.

The two spent the night together at a local hotel and engaged in sexual activity, according to the victim's testimony in June at trial.

Mother found inappropriate message

When she testified in her own defence, Ossais denied the sexual encounter in the hotel and told the court that she met up with the teen out of concern she would have a drug relapse.

But Lamoureux sided with the complainant.

The girl, who'd begun using drugs again, returned to the PChAD program shortly after the hotel room incident.

Back at the facility, staff became concerned about Ossais's relationship with the teen, whose mother had, by then, found an Instagram message she considered to be "unacceptable and unethical."

Story continues

But when police questioned the girl in 2019, she testified that, at the time, she "tried to protect" Ossais and was in denial about the nature of the relationship.

It was only after she got clean that the victim says she understood that what happened to her was wrong.

Lamoureux will hear sentencing submissions from defence lawyer James Hawkins and prosecutor Tiffany Dwyer later this year.