Former Winnipeg teacher pleads guilty to sexual exploitation, luring involving underage girls

Warning: This article contains content that may be disturbing to readers. Discretion is advised.

A former Winnipeg teacher and school support worker has pleaded guilty to a series of charges involving the sexual exploitation of underage girls, one of whom said they engaged in sexual intercourse “at least 20 times” while he was her support worker.

Matthew Mousseau, 38, pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday to two counts of sexual exploitation and one count each of luring, accessing child sexual abuse material, voyeurism, exposure for sexual purpose and providing liquor to minors.

All the offences took place in Winnipeg from 2019 to 2024 while he was employed as a support worker and Indigenous way of life teacher in the Seven Oaks School Division and Winnipeg School Division.

Police first detained Mousseau in May 2024 during a retail theft initiative at CF Polo Park, according to the agreed statement of facts read by Crown attorney Alanna Littman. Officers found his cellphone “strategically taped” to the inside of his tote bag, which had a small hole cut into it to expose the lens.

A review of recent videos and images showed him “walking closely to females,” though that did not substantiate an offence. Officers did, however, find several videos of female children engaged in sexual activity, prompting them to seize the device.

In July 2024, he was interviewed by child welfare workers regarding an allegation involving a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student at the school where he was employed. He confirmed he had been in a relationship with the student and that his seized phone contained child sexual abuse material, which he said he was accessing one to three times per week.

“He described his age of attraction as five years to 25 years of age,” Littman told the court, adding that some of the material involved children who were six years old.

Police were granted a search warrant for the seized phone that month. According to the agreed statement of facts, data extraction confirmed he had been accessing and possessing child sexual abuse material.

It also revealed he had “surreptitiously recorded children and adults in various stages of undress, including completely nude” within the family change room at Seven Oaks Pool between April 2023 and May 2024.

Mousseau was arrested and charged with several offences in October 2024, at which point the female student provided a video statement to police detailing the sexual relationship.

Student ‘sought guidance’

According to the agreed statement of facts, in early 2024, the student sought guidance from Mousseau following the deaths of two family members.

By March, he had added his number to her phone and begun messaging her frequently outside school hours. Those conversations were “very personal in nature,” and the relationship turned sexual, court heard.

Mousseau began “commenting on her physical attributes and sharing plans with her for their future together,” Littman said.

During spring break, he drove to her rural home, picked her up and took her to his residence, where they engaged in sexual intercourse, then returned her home.

When the student learned in May 2024 that Mousseau would not be returning to work — without explanation — she sought him out at his residence. “He told her that their relationship could not continue as police were watching him, and he then blocked her phone number,” the agreed statement of facts reads.

Court heard that in September, the student messaged him through an app. He later picked her up, drove her to his residence and engaged in sexual intercourse with her several times before returning her home the following day.

The student later told investigators that during their time together, Mousseau had “manipulated her, used her spirituality and sacred parts of her culture, and ultimately that he ‘broke’ her.”

According to the agreed statement of facts, he also had a “sexual exploitative relationship” with a separate student in 2019 while employed as a support worker in an after-school program.

Mousseau would drive her to a nearby parking lot as well as his home to engage in sexual intercourse, court heard. That student said it happened “at least 20 times” while she was 17 and he was her support worker. The relationship ended in August 2020.

Drugs, alcohol and two 15-year-olds

In another incident, Mousseau messaged a former student on Facebook in September 2024, according to the agreed statement of facts.

“Hit me up for smoke and rides, I got you if you want,” he wrote.

Court heard that same month, the student and a friend — both 15 years old — asked him to take them to buy alcohol. He purchased vodka with their money and added a bottle of Sour Puss at his own expense “as a surprise for them.”

He then drove to a cannabis store, bought a joint, and took the two girls to his home, where they drank and smoked marijuana he supplied until both became “severely intoxicated,” before he drove them home.

Court also heard that forensic analysis of Mousseau’s cellphone uncovered a video he created depicting the exposure of his penis to a 13-year-old.

In January 2024, with the child at his residence, he set his phone at the end of a hallway and, according to the agreed statement of facts, recorded himself removing his genitalia from his pants and stroking it “several times” while next to the minor, who was unaware they were being filmed.

The Crown will be seeking a sentence of up to 28 years in prison. Defence lawyer Jason Poettcker said he will be asking for less.

Mousseau is expected to be sentenced later this year following the completion of post-conviction reports and a psychological assessment.