A Stony Plain man accused in a sexual encounter with a teenaged hockey player last year told court his side of the story Tuesday.
Former teacher and hockey coach Robert Paolinelli, 42, took the stand at a sentencing hearing Tuesday morning, as he has already pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual exploitation.
The victim was a hockey player, who was 16 at the time of the incident.
He told court Monday that he was living with Paolinelli in October 2011 – Paolinelli had some young hockey players living in his home as billets at the time.
He alleges Paolinelli tried to kiss him, grope his genitals, and offered to perform sexual acts.
However in court Tuesday, Paolinelli disputed some of those accusations.
In court, he admitted to drinking alcohol with the then 16-year-old and offering to perform sexual acts.
When his lawyer asked him, "Did you touch his penis at all?"
Paolinelli replied: "No sir, I didn't."
His lawyer then asked: "At any time did you kiss him or attempt to kiss him?"
And his reply was: "No sir."
Paolinelli told the court that both were drunk at the time and that the 16-year-old had agreed to his offer of sexual acts, which is something the young player disputes.
Later on Tuesday, Paolinelli said he had been molested as a child by his uncle, and he apologized to the court, saying:
I'm extremely ashamed for what I've done, I'm sorry for what I've done. For me, it's just as bad as what my uncle did and I never, ever wanted to do something like that.
On cross examination, the Crown Prosecutor accused the former teacher of planning a sexual encounter, when he led the teen into his bedroom – an accusation Paolinelli disputed, saying he only intended to talk about hockey.
It's now up to the judge to decide what he believes happened that night – then the Crown and the defence will make submissions on what an appropriate sentence could be.
The case has been scheduled to be back in court in two weeks.
With files from Bill Fortier
