Winnipeg school worker pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of teen students

A former Winnipeg school support worker faces a potential sentence of nearly three decades in prison after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting teen students and possessing child sexual abuse materials over a five‑year period.

Matthew Mousseau, 38, entered guilty pleas on Wednesday to a series of offences committed between 2019 and 2024, including luring, voyeurism, accessing child sexual abuse materials, providing liquor to minors and exposing himself to a 13‑year‑old girl, according to a report from CBC News.

In court, defence lawyer Jason Poettcker asked Mousseau, “Are you pleading guilty today because you are, in fact, guilty?” CBC reports that Mousseau replied, “Yes,” while one of the young women he admitted to exploiting watched from the gallery behind him.

The Crown has indicated it will seek a sentence of up to 28 years, while the defence is expected to argue for a shorter term, CBC said. Mousseau is to be sentenced later this year once post‑conviction assessments are complete.

Previously, a report detailed how the culture at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) suggests many women are far from being free of sexual harassment.

Exploitation of students and minors

Court heard that at the time of the offences, Mousseau worked as a support worker and Indigenous way of life school worker in the Seven Oaks School Division and the Winnipeg School Division. CBC reports that his conduct involved two 17‑year‑old girls he met through his work, as well as other minors he contacted or recorded outside school settings.

One survivor told police she first sought him out in February 2024 for support while grieving the deaths of two family members, according to an agreed statement of facts read in court and reported by CBC. She said she began spending more time with him at school, including after hours, before the relationship became sexual and he drove her to his home, where they smoked marijuana and had intercourse.

The agreed facts state that Mousseau began texting her frequently, “commenting on her physical attributes and sharing plans with her for their future together,” CBC reported. She later told police that he “manipulated her, used her spirituality and sacred parts of her culture, and ultimately that he ‘broke’ her,” according to CBC’s account of the court document. For HR professionals, these details highlight how trusted “support” roles can be used to groom vulnerable young people and the importance of strict boundaries and oversight.

Police investigation and digital evidence

The investigation that exposed the broader pattern of offending began in May 2024, when Winnipeg police arrested Mousseau for voyeurism at CF Polo Park mall. Officers participating in a retail theft initiative noticed he was carrying a tote bag with a small hole cut in it and an iPhone taped inside, with the camera lens aligned with the opening, CBC reported.

According to the agreed facts, Mousseau allowed officers to look at his phone, which contained recent videos and images of him “walking closely to females” in the mall. Those images alone did not substantiate a criminal offence, but police also found several videos of female children “engaged in sexual activity,” leading them to seize the phone for further investigation, CBC said.

In a later interview with child welfare workers, he admitted a sexual relationship with a 17‑year‑old student and acknowledged that he had been “accessing such material one to three times per week for the past year,” according to CBC’s report. 

A forensic review confirmed he possessed child sexual abuse material and had secretly recorded children and adults in the family change room at Seven Oaks Pool, as well as exposing himself to a 13‑year‑old girl at his home.

Nearly half (47%) of women and 31% of men report experiencing inappropriate sexualized behaviours in a workplace setting, according to a previous Statistics Canada (StatCan) report.

How can employers address sexual harassment in the workplace?

In Ontario, employers can suspend or terminate employment based on sexual assault charges alone, even before a conviction, if they believe it harms the company’s reputation or workplace safety, Vilkhov Law noted.

Based on information from the federal government's Harassment and sexual violence in the workplace public consultations - what we heard report, published in 2023, here's how employers can respond to incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace:

• Informal resolution and internal processes should be tried first, with “competent person” investigations used when those fail.

• Employers must have clear, written anti‑harassment and violence policies, multiple safe reporting channels and explicit protection from retaliation.

• Confidentiality in investigations is critical; workplace committees should not see full reports.

• Employers are responsible for corrective action and must be able to justify investigation decisions.