Four women who were members of the Churchill High basketball team in the mid-1980s testified on Tuesday against their former teacher and coach at a professional misconduct hearing being held in Regina.
Martina Cain has since retired. She sat quietly and took notes as the women detailed at least one event where they say they were forced to remove an item of clothing if they missed a free throw during a basketball drill.
One of the women says she was beet red with embarrassment when she had to remove her shirt. Another said she was stripped down to her t-shirt and panties. She said she got very mad and just walked out.
According to their statements, none of the girls reported the incident to their parents.
The allegations recently came to light from one of the complainants, who is now an RCMP officer, was going to be transferred to La Ronge. In the 80’s she had often stayed at Cain’s home when her parents were out of town.
She said she had the option of sleeping on the floor or in the same bed as Cain, so she chose the bed. She told the hearing she did not consider that to be a bad thing at the time. She added there was never any touching or inappropriate sexual discussion.
The complainant also testified about an incident where Cain told her to take off her bathing suit and join her and another woman in a hot-tub.
The disciplinary hearing is being held by Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board. Registrar Trevor Smith says it operates much like a trial, but the burden of proof is not as high.
“In an administrative panel like this, the burden of proof is on a balance of the probabilities,” he said.
“So in order for a teacher to be found potentially guilty of misconduct or incompetence this committee has to be satisfied that the behaviour was more likely than not to have occurred.”
In a court of law, the standard is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If Cain is found guilty she has 30 days to appeal. She could also face fines, suspension, or lose her teaching certificate.
Cain will testify in her own defence Wednesday morning.