Ontario Grade 8 teacher pleads guilty to sex crimes against students

Warning: This story includes graphic descriptions of sexual misconduct involving minors.

An Ontario Grade 8 teacher who used Snapchat to send and solicit nude pictures from former students has pleaded guilty to luring and child pornography charges.

Kelly-Anne Jennings appeared in a Peterborough, Ont., courtroom Thursday morning, as parents of victims sat in the public gallery.

Jennings, 41, was arraigned on six charges stemming from incidents in 2023, including child luring, making child pornography and distributing sexually explicit material to a minor. The victims were named as teenage boys who’d been Jennings’ students.

The accused stood and said “guilty” when asked by Ontario Court Justice Nathan N. Baker how she would be pleading. 

The court heard further charges, including one count of sexual assault, would be stayed, at the request of the Crown.

The court also heard Jennings had been drinking when she began sending increasingly explicit images — including videos of herself masturbating — to the former students over Snapchat. According to an agreed statement of facts, Jennings also received nude pictures of the boys at her request.

A court-ordered publication ban covers the names of the victims and any information that could identify them, such as the school where Jennings taught.

“My son looked up to her as a second mother, someone who truly cared about him,” a mother of one of the victims said in a statement read in court. 

She described Jennings’ behaviour as “predatory, manipulative and deeply harmful.”

Crown attorney Julie Ann Barrett told the court the three boys “were manipulated by [Jennings] and used for her own selfish sexual needs.”

As of Thursday morning, Jennings remained on unpaid leave from her job at the school in Port Hope, part of Northumberland County, east of Toronto. Her profile on the Ontario College of Teachers website listed her as a member in “good standing.” 

Jennings was first charged in August 2024 after police said a male student told his mother about inappropriate physical contact with a teacher on a class trip. Police later said three more complainants had come forward, which led to further charges.

The Crown has recommended a four-year prison sentence. Jennings’ defence lawyer Dean Embry asked that his client receive no jail time, but rather a conditional sentence of two years less a day, followed by probation.

Jennings is expected back in court on Nov. 27.