Oct 12, 2006

B.C. girl felt 'flattered' by teacher's advances

Rod Mickleburgh 
Globe and Mail (Canada)
October 12, 2006 

VANCOUVER -- They were young, lonely girls, and when their tall, good-looking high-school teacher told them they were special, they believed him.

Yesterday, a rapt courtroom heard how their teenaged infatuations propelled them into a web of sexual encounters with the teacher, Tom Ellison, who is facing 16 sex-related charges involving 12 of his former students in the 1970s and early 1980s. 

The two middle-aged women, whose identities were protected by a court-ordered publication ban, recounted how they made frequent trips to Mr. Ellison's live-aboard sailboat in Vancouver, where various forms of sexual contact took place. 

One testified that she was 14 when Mr. Ellison began making physical advances to her on his boat by massaging her breasts after a long night of drinking wine. 

During subsequent trysts, she said, "he put his hands all over me [and] in my pants," often lying on top of her, rubbing his penis to ejaculation, although they always stopped short of sexual intercourse. 

"I was nervous and I felt squeamish. But I really wanted him to love me, and when he did that, I really felt he loved me." 

Mr. Ellison, her Grade 9 science teacher, gave her a pet nickname. "I was his tomato," she said. 

The second witness was 17 at the time she became sexually entangled with Mr. Ellison, regularly visiting him on his sailboat, the Nostradamus, throughout her final year at Prince of Wales Secondary School. 

"He said he was preparing me for my sexual future with other partners," she told the court. 

Mr. Ellison, 63, is charged with 12 counts of gross indecency, three counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. 

All but one of the 12 complainants met Mr. Ellison while they were students and he was the senior teacher in a groundbreaking outdoors program at Prince of Wales called Quest. 

The second witness said her initial sexual contact with Mr. Ellison occurred during a 10-day, co-ed summer sailing trip with seven other Questers. 

One night, she slept beside him in the bow of the ship. She agreed to a massage, complying with Mr. Ellison's suggestion that it would be better if her clothes were off. 

"Somewhere along the line, he whispered in my ear that it would also be better if I rolled over on my back. So I did. At that point, he massaged my breasts. . . . Then he used his mouth to suck on my nipples." 

Matters went further during the school year. There was oral sex. Mr. Ellison digitally penetrated her vagina numerous times, "and often he had a vibrator he used all over my body," she testified. 

Asked by prosecutor Ralph Keefer why she agreed to meet Mr. Ellison for sex, the woman replied: "I had a crush on him the whole year. I was flattered by the attention. 

"I was a quite shy and naive 17-year-old. All the girls were in love with him, and I felt very special." 

Finally, just before she turned 18, she decided to end her relationship with Mr. Ellison. He did not object. 

"I felt I was not living a normal Grade 12 life," the woman said, sobbing quietly and pausing to collect her thoughts. "I felt ostracized by my friends, and it was something I had done. 

"Someone asked me out. I really wanted to go, but I supposed I shouldn't [because of Mr. Ellison]. I couldn't go on a date with a boy my age," the woman said, as Mr. Ellison looked down, his hands clasped under his chin. 

Only years later, she said, did she learn that there were many other girls "special" to Mr. Ellison. In 1993, she went to the police. 

After that, she said she received an angry telephone call from her former teacher, "who told me that he thought we had something special. I was 34 then. It sounded like a lie to me, but when I was 17, it would have been very flattering." 

Answering questions from defence lawyer Bill Smart, the woman agreed that she was "a willing participant" in her sexual activities with Mr. Ellison. 

Asked whether she was "sexually excited" by them, she replied: "I assume I was." 

"You looked forward to those visits?" Mr. Smart questioned. 

"Yes, I did," she said. 

Mr. Ellison has admitted that his behaviour was wrong and unprofessional, but not criminal under laws existing at the time. 

The first witness recalled that Mr. Ellison would tell her she was beautiful, superior to all the other kids and much more mature than they were. 

"I was obsessed [with him]. A mixed-up, lonely little girl," she said. 

She said Mr. Ellison gave her an A in the Grade 9 science course she took from him. "The next year, I got a C." 

During subsequent trysts, she said, "he put his hands all over me [and] in my pants," often lying on top of her, rubbing his penis to ejaculation, although they always stopped short of sexual intercourse. 

"I was nervous and I felt squeamish. But I really wanted him to love me, and when he did that, I really felt he loved me." 

Mr. Ellison, her Grade 9 science teacher, gave her a pet nickname. "I was his tomato," she said. 

The second witness was 17 at the time she became sexually entangled with Mr. Ellison, regularly visiting him on his sailboat, the Nostradamus, throughout her final year at Prince of Wales Secondary School. 

"He said he was preparing me for my sexual future with other partners," she told the court. 

Mr. Ellison, 63, is charged with 12 counts of gross indecency, three counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. 

All but one of the 12 complainants met Mr. Ellison while they were students and he was the senior teacher in a groundbreaking outdoors program at Prince of Wales called Quest. 

The second witness said her initial sexual contact with Mr. Ellison occurred during a 10-day, co-ed summer sailing trip with seven other Questers. 

One night, she slept beside him in the bow of the ship. She agreed to a massage, complying with Mr. Ellison's suggestion that it would be better if her clothes were off. 

"Somewhere along the line, he whispered in my ear that it would also be better if I rolled over on my back. So I did. At that point, he massaged my breasts. . . . Then he used his mouth to suck on my nipples." 

Matters went further during the school year. There was oral sex. Mr. Ellison digitally penetrated her vagina numerous times, "and often he had a vibrator he used all over my body," she testified. 

Asked by prosecutor Ralph Keefer why she agreed to meet Mr. Ellison for sex, the woman replied: "I had a crush on him the whole year. I was flattered by the attention. 

"I was a quite shy and naive 17-year-old. All the girls were in love with him, and I felt very special." 

Finally, just before she turned 18, she decided to end her relationship with Mr. Ellison. He did not object. 


"I felt I was not living a normal Grade 12 life," the woman said, sobbing quietly and pausing to collect her thoughts. "I felt ostracized by my friends, and it was something I had done. 

"Someone asked me out. I really wanted to go, but I supposed I shouldn't [because of Mr. Ellison]. I couldn't go on a date with a boy my age," the woman said, as Mr. Ellison looked down, his hands clasped under his chin. 

Only years later, she said, did she learn that there were many other girls "special" to Mr. Ellison. In 1993, she went to the police. 

After that, she said she received an angry telephone call from her former teacher, "who told me that he thought we had something special. I was 34 then. It sounded like a lie to me, but when I was 17, it would have been very flattering." 

Answering questions from defence lawyer Bill Smart, the woman agreed that she was "a willing participant" in her sexual activities with Mr. Ellison. 

Asked whether she was "sexually excited" by them, she replied: "I assume I was." 

"You looked forward to those visits?" Mr. Smart questioned. 

"Yes, I did," she said. 

Mr. Ellison has admitted that his behaviour was wrong and unprofessional, but not criminal under laws existing at the time. 

The first witness recalled that Mr. Ellison would tell her she was beautiful, superior to all the other kids and much more mature than they were. 

"I was obsessed [with him]. A mixed-up, lonely little girl," she said. 

She said Mr. Ellison gave her an A in the Grade 9 science course she took from him. "The next year, I got a C." 


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061012.BCQUEST12/TPStory/?query=Tom+and+Ellison