Court hears victim and mother in trial of Regina teacher accused of sexually exploiting student

Emotions ran high in a Regina courtroom on the second day of the trial of a former Regina teacher accused of sexually exploiting a student.

Jeffrey Dumba is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation. He is alleged to have communicated virtually with a 15-year-old student at the school where he worked. He was arrested in 2021.

Digital evidence found on a laptop, an Apple Watch and two cell phones included explicit images exchanged between two different Snapchat user IDs believed to belong to the alleged victim and the defendant.

On Tuesday, the alleged victim took the stand. The now 18-year-old reviewed the recording of a preliminary police interview from September 2, 2021, in which she and her mother exchanged the following dialogue:

Mother: “You do realize how wrong this is, don’t you?”

Victim: “Yes, but it’s my fault.”

Mother: “May I ask why you think it is your fault?”

Victim: “I added him (on Snapchat).”

Mother: “Did you know who he was when you added him?”

Victim: “No, but I added it.”

The victim described how the correspondence came about, explaining that she added the teacher using Snapchat’s quick add feature without knowing who he was.

“He asked what I looked like, so I sent him a picture and asked what he looked like and he said, ‘I’m not much for pictures,'” she said.

The alleged communication between the two turned sexual after Dumba asked for pictures of the girl without clothes. The girl stated that Dumba eventually realized that she was a student at the school where he was employed.

According to the alleged victim, Dumba replied: “Well, a line has already been crossed, so we might as well move on.”

The girl also described some strange interactions between her and Dumba.

“On the last day of school, he hugged me and said, ‘I know one day we’ll be really good friends.'”

She then described the interaction as “awkward because there were so many people there and my friends were talking to me about it because of the rumors about him.”

The victim’s mother also testified. Her testimony illustrated the difficult relationship with her daughter, which she described as “non-existent” and “very” hostile. She stated that she had not seen her daughter since September 2023.

After presenting the recording from September 2, 2021, the mother tried to explain her thought processes that led her to feel that her daughter was to blame.

“I was still in shock, of course. Most parents, when they see a police visit, don’t think, ‘Oh my God, what has my daughter done?’ They think, ‘What has been done to my daughter?'” the mother said.

The mother went on to say that she felt her 15-year-old daughter had “looked up” the 49-year-old teacher on social media. She explained that she felt “guilty” because she felt her daughter bore some responsibility for the situation.

“She was raging and I just said, ‘(victim’s name) I’m behind you and I stood by you even though I know you knew who he was when you added him on Snapchat and I didn’t even tell you that. Like I didn’t accuse you,’ and then she just got mad and was like, ‘You’re a bad mother,’ you went after him,” the mother said.

“She called me a bad mother because I didn’t believe she was a victim.”

She continued to express her general frustration at being called as a witness.

“I was literally arrested today on a warrant, which means I don’t want to be here… so no, was I going to admit that my child wanted this? No. But did I know that she had inappropriate relationships with adults in the past? Yes, I knew… I really believe this behavior is to get attention and she may have a personality disorder.”

The trial will continue on Wednesday with further testimony from the victim and cross-examination from the defense.