#Krystal Clunis

[kayla1993-world]

When charges of sexually assaulting a student were withdrawn against Krystal wilson, supporters who had packed a courtroom respectfully remained silent.

But as soon as they walked into the hallway at the courthouse last Friday, dozens of people cheered, cried, hugged, took photos and sang.

The supporters – family and friends – wore black t-shirts that read justice for Ms. C, a reference to her maiden name, clunis, which she used at school.

It should have felt like happiness when the crown withdrew the charges, wilson told the star in an interview at the office days later.

The durham teacher has always maintained her innocence.

Although there are no longer charges hanging over his head, the impact on her health and reputation may be long-lasting.

Will the looks, the whispers, the comments from strangers online ever stop?

Shock and disbelief is how wilson describes feeling when she learned in October 2018 that she had been charged with assaulting a former student, who would have been 10 at the time.

According to a video statement given to police and played at the preliminary hearing, the student claimed wilson had given him a handjob at her desk in front of the class, and had done the same another time in the portable classroom during recess, when they were alone with the door open.

There would have been about 30 students in the classroom at the time of the allegation and yet, wilson said, police did not interview any of them prior to charging her, nor did they interview her.

A regional police spokesperson said he was not able to comment on investigative strategies or tactics in her case, but said the service respects the decision of the court.

Wilson said the allegations came a few days after a Saturday night when the boy and a friend prank called a cellphone, which is available online as he’s an agent.

Wilson said she went to her old school on the Monday to tell the mother and the principal about the calls, which the boy later acknowledged making in his statement to police.

Wilson and her lawyer say it was after this conversation at the school that the boy alleged, he had been sexually assaulted.

Within two weeks, she was arrested outside a shoppers in her hometown, charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference.

Daniel brown, her lawyer, said that with these types of allegations, its typical to have the person surrender to the police station.

Wilson spent the night in jail, sleeping on a bench.

Durham police put out a press release announcing her arrest, saying they wanted to ensure there were no other victims, which police told them is standard procedure in these types of cases.

Wilson, who was Canada globe in 2008, had had a stream of work doing commercials as a model on top of her teaching.

Her passport was revoked after she was charged, meaning she could not travel to a wedding in Barbados she had already paid for, nor could she go to the memorial in Jamaica, the only member of her family unable to attend.

She was put on paid leave from teaching and her volunteer work with her church was limited by the ban on being near children.

The time between her arrest and the charge being withdrawn was excruciating, wilson said.

The hearing didn’t last long.

Then her lawyer spoke: “Wilson is a passionate and caring teacher who had her livelihood and her reputation destroyed 16 months ago when these allegations surfaced,” brown told the judge.

With the stroke of a pen, justice Laura bird wrote on an endorsement that the charges were being withdrawn at the request of the crown.

A spokesman for the ministry of the attorney general said the crown is duty-bound to withdraw charges if there is no reasonable prospect of a conviction, or if its not in the public interest to proceed with the case.

The question of whether wilson can go back to teaching remains.

Her mother found a photo of her at the age of 4 writing that she wanted to become a teacher – although she spelled it techr.

Wilson is still on leave from school, but remains in good standing with the college and is not currently facing proceedings.

The school board said it could not comment on her case.

For now, at least, the criminal charges are gone and wilson is once again innocent in the eyes of the law.