After-School Special

(From Sun Media -- By Jean-Philippe Pineault)

Frustrated by her meagre salary, a Montreal math teacher took advantage of school holidays to work -- as an escort.

Using the pseudonym DAWN, the 29-year-old, who recently retired from teaching, sold her sexual services by night and taught high school math by day.

For four years, Dawn divided her time between the classroom and hotel rooms, without her colleagues' knowledge.

The woman told SUN MEDIA her teacher's salary wasn't enough. A first-year teacher earns $35,000 a year, but will end up with around $24,000 after taxes.

The woman, who agreed to share her story provided her identity not be revealed, said she stumbled onto her secret second career while looking through ads.

Teaching "wasn't stimulating enough for me," she said.

After contacting an escort agency in Montreal, the woman, then 25, began discreetly meeting rich businessmen, most of whom were anglophones.

"At first I didn't have sexual relations with the clients," she said. "I only accompanied them to events and performed erotic dances."

She said she also asked the agency not to set her up with men from Montreal because she didn't want to meet anyone she knew.

Clients paid her $250 an hour for her sexual services, but she said she had to give half the money to her escort agency.

Working part time as an escort, the teacher said she was treated like a "real princess."

She dined in the finest restaurants along SAINT-LAURENT BOULEVARD and VIEUX-PORT, drank at CASINO DE MONTREAL and received an avalanche of gifts. Dawn was living the life she'd always dreamed of.

In addition to sleeping at THE RITZ-CARLETON, at the posh
ST. JAMES HOTEL in the VIEUX-PORT and at THE PLAZA, the teacher once went on a trip to Las Vegas with a client. The pair stayed at THE MGM GRAND and went to the most popular shows in town, including CELINE DION and CIRQUE DU SOLEIL.

"It was great -- I made heads turn," said the former teacher, who was paid $2,000 for the weekend.

The teacher had many clients she met on weekends, on school holidays and during the summer months.

With the money she was earning, Dawn was able to buy things she couldn't afford before on her teacher's salary. She took full advantage, going on a shopping binge.

She was even able to buy a car and a brand new condo.

She quit teaching in June after one of her clients learned of her double life through a private detective firm.

Afraid the school would eventually discover her secret, Dawn chose to give it all up.

She's convinced her secret life didn't affect her performance in the classroom.

"I was very good and very appreciated. It didn't change anything because I did my job well. Anyways, I didn't talk about what I did in my spare time with my students."

The young woman quit teaching and remade her life. She now works as a waitress in a restaurant.

Tom Blais, thanks for the post.