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A new trial has been ordered for a former educational assistant in Saskatchewan after an appeals court ruled convictions on three of the woman’s six charges should be set aside.
Stacey Duke was convicted of six charges in June 2025 including two counts each of sexual exploitation, child luring, and making explicit material available to a child. She was sentenced to 28 months in prison, and must register as a sex offender and pay a victim surcharge of $400. Duke formerly worked as an educational assistant at Vibank Regional School.
The case involved two underage boys, only referred to as A.A. and B.B. in court documents.
In her appeal of the convictions, Duke argues the trial judge erred by not directing a verdict of not guilty for all charges related to the complainant where the position of trust was “tenuous,” which she argued was “non-existent,” that the verdict was unreasonable and that jury instructions were “inadequate.”
Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan Justice Jerome Tholl wrote in the decision that the three convictions related to B.C. should be set aside as Duke established the jury was “not adequately equipped” to determine if the Crown proved she was in a position of trust or authority of B.C. when the alleged incident occurred in October 2022.
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Tholl also said that there were no grounds for appeal by Duke on the assertion of an unreasonable verdict or inadequate jury instructions.
While the convictions related to B.B. were set aside, the appeals court justice said the appeal of the convictions related to A.A. should be dismissed.
The Court of Appeal also had to consider a leave to appeal by the Crown.
The sentencing of Duke saw her receive 16 months for sexual exploitation and 12 months concurrently for making sexually explicit material available to a child. The third count, child luring, was judicially stayed, the court documents note.
According to the appeal decision, the Crown was appealing the 16-month total sentence, saying it was the result of “errors in principle” and “demonstrably unfit.”
“Overall, it asserts that the trial judge failed to apply the jurisprudential guidance for sexual offences involving child victims,” the ruling states.
“While the sentence appears to me to be at the bottom of the spectrum for circumstances such as the ones at hand, it does not cross the high threshold of being clearly unreasonable, clearly inadequate, or a substantial and marked departure from other sentences imposed for similar offenders and similar offences.”
The decision says that while a new trial should be ordered, the DNA submission and requirement to register as a sex offender should remain in place. As well, with the convictions related only to A.A. remaining, the victim surcharge should be reduced to $200 and paid within 90 days.
Last June, Duke was released on bail as she awaited the outcome of her appeal.
With the Court of Appeal keeping her conviction and sentencing related to A.A. in place, Tholl wrote she must surrender herself to begin serving those sentences. She is required to surrender herself to the RCMP detachment in Weyburn, Sask., by 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
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