Despatie, who changed his last name to Watkins, is on trial for 14 sex-crime charges involving four former students, who have all testified against the accused predator.One 13-year-old girl said every time she asked for help in math, Despatie couldn’t keep his hands off her. He touched her shoulders, arms and rubbed her thighs under her uniform skirt, right up to her underwear, she testified.
Despatie denied touching the girls inappropriately and testified Wednesday before Ontario Court Justice Ann Alder that he only touched students when he was giving them a high-five or a pat on the back for encouragement. “That’s why you say none of this happened, could never happen, because the door was always open,” declared Albers, noting that, “It’s possible to touch somebody even if the door is open, right?”He said it wasn’t inappropriate to put his hand on a student’s shoulder even though there was a policy against it.Article contentHe said he never asked the students if he could put his hand on their shoulder because he said it was “innocuous, for balance and nothing else.