Charges of sexual assault and exploitation against a Medicine Hat vice-principal by a former junior high school student were dismissed Friday by a provincial court judge.
Gregory Fritzke, 44, was charged in February 2009 after a now 19-year-woman heard news reports that her former vice-principal was facing child pornography allegations and reported to police her interactions with the accused nearly five years ago.
The woman described Fritzke as a “father figure” and went on to say the two corresponded by email chats after she had graduated from the junior high school in June 2004.
The teenager — who was 14 at the time of the interaction — said the communication continued into the summer and she went to Fritzke’s home sometime in July or August when the man’s wife and children weren’t home.
She testified to being led into the home through the back door, to the basement and into a spare room.
“We were on the bed,” the woman began before tearing up.
“We started to kiss, he was feeling my body, touching me.”
She went onto describe sexual acts not involving intercourse between the two.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Randal Pick, the woman said the acts were consensual.
“He didn’t force you to do anything,” asked Pick.
“No,” responded the complainant.
The defence lawyer went on to ask if she had a crush on Fritzke at the time.
“Yes but I felt disgusted and wished I had never done what I did.”
With the 45 minutes of testimony which only featured the one witness, the remainder of the day was taken up by legal arguments.
Some clarification of the specific charge against the accused was needed due to Parliament’s 2008 amending the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 years old. Because the alleged offence occurring in 2004, the previous law applied.
Crown prosecutor Kelly Payne began her arguments by saying that due to Fritzke not taking the stand in his own defence, “you don’t have a he-said, just she-said.”
She went on to describe the vice-principal’s behavior as “predatory” though ceded that it wasn’t physically forced.
“This isn’t a violent act,” Payne told the court, “It’s a seduction ... seduction of an adult vice-principal on the body of a 14-year-old girl.”
Payne unsuccessfully argued that Fritzke retained a role as an individual with power and authority over the then 14-year-old — thus negating consent of the youth whether she gave it or not —  and it extended beyond the day he stopped being the girl’s vice-principal.
Payne told the court that on graduation day in 2004, a “magic door” wasn’t shut absolving Fritzke of his responsibility as a school administrator and duty as an adult.
In handing down his decision, Judge Darwin Greaves respectfully told the court the Crown had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Fritzke still had authority over the girl.
While he released the accused from legal culpability he stopped short of absolving Fritzke’s actions.
“I find the circumstances repugnant but I will not lynch a man because he is repugnant,” said Greaves, adding his duty as a judge is to hand decisions down based on legal principals, not moral ones.
Grant Henderson, school district superintendent, would not confirm if Fritzke remains employed with the organization citing employee privacy concerns. However, he said Fritzke would not be in any area schools for the foreseeable future.
Despite the dismissal of the sexual assault charges, Fritzke’s legal woes continue with his next scheduled court is March 2, when he appears on charges of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.