The teacher, Edward LaRocque, denies the allegations and the school board, which is located about 65 kilometers east of Toronto, denies any responsibility related to the allegations. Now, at 25, Julia Kerley said she feels the time is right to speak out. “I’m in a place where I want accountability,” he told CBC News. “I don’t want to carry the shame anymore.” Kearley has so far chosen not to go to the police, so the matter has not been investigated and no criminal charges have been laid. None of the lawsuit’s allegations have been proven in court. The statement of defense filed by LaRocque’s attorneys denies the allegations and asks that the lawsuit be dismissed. Lawyer Andrew Max told CBC News in an email that “the matter is before the court and Mr. LaRocque will respond to these allegations there.” Also at issue is a separate third-party claim the school board filed against the plaintiff’s mother, which the board says was initiated by his insurer without his knowledge. She claims she is partly responsible for any abuse by failing to protect her daughter “in accordance with parental/guardian responsibility” – something Kearley’s mother denies. According to a statement of claim, Kearley first met LaRocque in 2011 when she started attending Uxbridge Secondary School in the 9th grade. She was 14 at the time, while LaRocque, the coach of the school’s cross-country and track teams, was in her late 30s. Kearley joined the cross-country team later that year. The lawsuit alleges that LaRocque soon began grooming her. Kearley and LaRocque are seen together in this photo from the 2014 Athletics Ontario cross-country championships when Kearley was in Grade 12. (Submitted by Julia Kearley) “From the beginning, LaRocque praised Julia and told her how talented she was,” the statement of claims states. At LaRocque’s suggestion, according to the lawsuit, Kearley also joined the Greater Uxbridge Road Runners club outside of school — which led to her doing one-on-one workouts with LaRocque and taking her to practices and races. The lawsuit alleges that over the course of several months, LaRoque and Kearley spent more and more time together and texted back and forth. The lawsuit alleges that the text messages were initially related to running but quickly turned into exchanges about other topics. “I really really thought, especially for 9th grade, 10th grade, that this was someone who really cared about me, and I really cared about him,” Kearley said in an interview.

Mental health struggles

When Kearley was in the 10th grade, according to the statement of claim, LaRocque began isolating her from family and friends, as well as making “comments to Julia about her body, texting her pictures of women in minimal clothing and telling Julia that the women in the photos had nice bodies and that Julia should aspire to be like them.” The lawsuit says more overt sexual abuse began when Kearley was in 11th grade. At the time, he was starting to receive scholarship offers from schools in the US and Canada, but had to take some time off from running due to injury. “Julia expressed to LaRocque that she was struggling mentally because she wasn’t running,” the lawsuit states about the time period around January 2014. “She told him she was having suicidal thoughts and was feeling very isolated.” This photo is from a 2013 race at Boyd Conservation Park in Vaughan, Ont., from when Kearley was in 11th grade. (Submitted by Julia Kearley) At that time, according to allegations contained in court documents, LaRocque began telling Kearley that it appeared she had previously been abused or assaulted and insisted she was repressing memories of such an experience. He reportedly told her he “loved her like a father” and would help her become more comfortable around older men. That process included “hugging” in bed without clothes on to “simulate what sexual abuse felt like,” according to the lawsuit. “Julia complied with LaRocque’s instructions because of the position of trust, power and authority LaRocque held over her as her teacher and coach,” the statement of claim states. “Little by little the lines got blurred and that’s when the sexual assaults started,” Kearley told CBC News.

The contact was reportedly maintained until 2017

The lawsuit alleges that LaRocque first kissed Kearley in the spring of 2014 and had sex with her around May 2014 when she was 16 — her first time having sex with anyone. Kearley’s lawyers allege that LaRocque continued to have regular sex with her after that and “forced Julia to send him nude and sexual images and videos of her via text message.” Kearley continued to run while attending college in upstate New York, but says her relationship with the sport had faltered over the years. (Laura Pedersen/CBC) The statement of claim also alleges that LaRocque sometimes drove Kearley to his home in Ajax, Ont., where they stayed overnight. “Julia routinely lied to her parents on these occasions and told them she was staying at her friend’s house for the weekend,” the lawsuit states. Kearley told CBC News that LaRocque tried to make what was happening seem like a “secret relationship” — something that made her feel extremely emotional and confused as a teenager. “He was very controlling – very controlling of my life,” she said. “At that point, I’m a kid… I don’t know what to do about it.” Kearley is shown here with her dog, Harley. She says she hasn’t yet gone to the police with her allegations, but doesn’t rule out doing so in the future. (Laura Pedersen/CBC) The lawsuit alleges that LaRocque exercised control over Kearley for years. He left Uxbridge in 2015 to attend college in upstate New York, but the two stayed in touch. He first tried to escape the situation in the fall of 2015, according to the lawsuit, but was unable to successfully sever the relationship until 2017. “It took a long time to get out of it,” he told CBC News. “I had a breakdown because of it. It was a really dark time when I was trying to get away and I started to realize how abusive it really was.”

Lawsuit seeks damages from coach, school board

Kearley’s legal claim seeks $2 million in general and punitive damages, plus $1 million in special damages, split between both LaRocque and the school board. The Durham District School Board said in a statement that it first learned of the allegations when it was served with the statement of claim and has since contacted Durham police and the Children’s Aid Society. The board also said LaRocque has been “removed from [his] duties’ amid an ongoing investigation. “We are not aware of any other complaints involving other students at this time and we encourage anyone with information to come forward to the police,” the statement said. “Durham District School Board takes it seriously when a person in a position of trust and authority is alleged to abuse that trust.” Kearley says she wasn’t interested in running at first, but when she tried it in 9th grade, she found a “pure, innocent love for the sport.” This photo is from a match at the Oshawa Civic Center in 2012. (Submitted by Julia Kearley) The board’s statement of defense first denies that any abuse occurred — but goes on to say that if it did, the board had no knowledge of the alleged abuse and says it is not responsible for anything LaRocque may have done. But a third-party claim filed on behalf of the school board says some responsibility must lie with Kearley’s mother, arguing that “her conduct fell below the standard of a reasonable parent/guardian under the circumstances.” In a statement of defense, Kearley’s mother, Stacy, denied that claim, saying she believed LaRocque’s relationship with her daughter was appropriate for teacher and student, or coach and athlete. “At all material times, Stacy acted and behaved as a reasonable and ordinary parent/guardian with respect to [her daughter]”, the statement reads. “At no time did he fall below the standard of care of a reasonable parent/guardian.” When asked about the third-party proceedings, a board spokesman said its insurance company, the Ontario School Boards’ Insurance Exchange, has taken up the matter and initiated the claim without the board’s knowledge. Spokesman Robert Seryanets said the board asked the insurance company to drop the claim against Curley’s mother. The insurance company did not respond to a request for comment. “It takes courage for victims of abuse to speak up, and we believe this insurance company lawsuit could be a deterrent in the future for families coming forward,” Cerjanec said.

Correction of relationship with running

Kearley told CBC News that she hasn’t gone to the police with her allegations, though she doesn’t rule out doing so in the future. He said he wanted some measure of responsibility but also to protect himself. “It’s scary. You hear a lot of stories of victims coming to the fore and then being completely traumatized [criminal justice] system and I wasn’t in a place emotionally, mentally where I think I could take that,” he said. “This feels right to me right now and everyone’s process is different.” Carly Kalish, executive director of Victim Services Toronto, echoed that sentiment. “People have to come forward in their own time, at their own pace, and our response has to be non-judgmental and non-judgmental,” Kalish said. While many things about the condition have affected her, Kearley said her relationship with running has definitely dissolved. When she first started training, she loved tying her sneakers, fueled by “a pure, innocent love of the sport.” “And then throughout high school…