A Grade 8 teacher in Port Hope is facing multiple sexual offence charges as a result of an ongoing police investigation.
On August 21, Port Hope police received a report of a sexual assault involving a youth victim.
Due to the allegations, Port Hope police began an investigation that resulted in the arrest of Kelly-Anne Jennings, a Grade 8 teacher at St. Anthony’s Catholic School in Port Hope. On August 29, police arrested Jennings on charges of sexual assault and sexual interference. She was released on a undertaking with a court appearance schedule for October 9.
While conducting an extensive investigation, the Criminal Investigation Branch of the Port Hope Police Service began to identify additional alleged victims who had previously attended St. Anthony’s Catholic School.
After speaking to several witnesses and additional victims, officers applied for and were granted several search warrants for supporting evidence in relation to the offences. These warrants were executed by the Port Hope police with the assistance of the Peterborough Police Service’s Technological Crimes Unit.
Based on the investigation, Jennings was arrested again on Wednesday (September 4) and faces 16 additional sexual offence charges in relation to three additional youth victims identified as her former students.
The additional charges include three counts of distributing sexually explicit material to a person under 16 years of age, seven counts of luring a person under 16 years of age by means of telecommunication, two counts of accessing child pornography, two counts of invitation to sexual touching of a person under 16 years of age, and two counts of making, printing, publishing, or possessing child pornography for the purpose of publication.
Jennings is being held in custody for a bail hearing before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg.
“The Port Hope Police would like to thank all the current victims and witnesses for coming forward as well as the cooperation of their guardians,” reads a media release.
Any further victims or witnesses are encouraged to contact the Port Hope Police Service in person, by phone at 905-885-8123, or by email at phps@phps.on.ca.
