A former Saskatchewan teacher says she thought her sexual relationship with a then 16-year-old student was legal.

Erin Osmond, who is 29, is charged with sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old boy in 2013. She was the boy’s English teacher for a semester at Winston High School in Watrous.

She testified in a Saskatoon courtroom Wednesday she thought the relationship was okay because the boy was the legal age of consent and because her teaching contract had run out before they first had sex.

A charge of sexual exploitation requires the Crown to prove that the accused was in a position of authority or trust over a person over the age of 16 but younger than 18.

Osmond argued she was not an authority over the boy because she was no longer his teacher. She said the two first had sex in mid-March 2013. Her contract ended in February 2013 — though she remained on the school’s sub list.

The Crown went over several text messages between Osmond and the alleged victim during cross examination.

Some texts — in which Osmond told the teen they should get together or in which she commented on the teen’s attractiveness — were sent while Osmond was still the teen’s teacher. Other texts quoted by the Crown were sent after she left the teaching position.

The Crown referenced a sexually charged message from Osmond to the boy dating to the day her contract expired. The Crown asked Osmond if the texts were appropriate conversation for a then 27-year-old woman to have with a 16-year-old boy, a mere 24 hours after she’d been teaching him English.

Osmond replied she viewed the boy more as a boyfriend than as a teenager. She said she recognized the age difference, but repeated that as far as she knew, the boy had reached the age of consent and she was no longer his teacher.

Some texts saw both Osmond and the student state the relationship needs to end. Osmond said she was concerned about the stress the relationship was putting on the teen, but she also acknowledged she was worried her husband would find out and that the relationship would damage her teaching reputation.

Osmond admitted Tuesday to kissing the teen in her classroom and then having sex with him on multiple occasions after the contract expired.

The defence argued Tuesday the teen also wanted a sexual relationship.

Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for April 30. Testimony wrapped up Wednesday.

--- with files from the Canadian Press