Former Spruce Grove teacher Robert John Paolinelli will have to wait until June 20 to learn his fate after admitting having a sexual encounter with a minor.
Paolinelli, 42, took the stand Tuesday for the second day of his sentencing hearing in Stony Plain Provincial Court. He pleaded guilty in mid-December to sexually exploiting a 16-year-old boy.
“I'm extremely ashamed at what I have done and I'm sorry for what I've done,” Paolinelli told the court. “I wish I had a time machine and I wish I would have not done this.”
Sexual exploitation charges are laid against individuals in a position of trust who violate that trust.
At the time of the Oct. 4, 2011 offence, he was a hockey coach in St. Albert and teacher at Spruce Grove's St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School.
The victim lived with Paolinelli at the time of the offence.
“Mr. Paolinelli did some bad things, some very bad things,” said defence lawyer Brian Vail. “These are things he's not proud of.”
Paolinelli admitted to consuming alcohol with the underage victim prior to engaging in sexual contact.
After an evening of consuming alcohol with two other individuals, the pair went to Paolinelli's bedroom where they discussed hockey.
“Both of us drank the most that evening ... but we were still able to have a very serious discussion about hockey,” he said.
The discussion then turned sexual, with Paolinelli asking for sex. He admitted offering to perform oral sex on the boy and allowing him to have intercourse with him, adding he thought that was what the boy wanted.
Paolinelli told the court the boy agreed – a statement disputed by the boy in court Monday.
Paolinelli said he then reached over and began removing a blanket covering the victim's legs. The victim then left the room.
Paolinelli said there was no direct touching or kissing – a claim made in court Monday.
Vail said the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was any direct touching of the minor.
"He had a vulnerable kid under his control," said Crown prosecutor Doug Taylor. "He had a responsibility to protect this child and he failed miserably."
A pre-sentence report was ordered by Judge Hugh Fuller and will be used to determine Paolinelli's fate.
Sentencing is set for June 20 in Stony Plain Provincial Court.
