A former student accused Winfield of sexually assaulting him from 2016 to 2018, when he was 11 to 13 years old. Winfield denies the charges. The News does not identify alleged survivors of sexual assault.

“Who should we be able to trust with our children?” Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski asked jurors as the day began, describing predatory habits of people who build the trust of intended victims and their families.

Witnesses for the prosecution will testify Winfield acted as such a predator, Muszynski said.

Surrounded by easels holding enlarged school photos of the alleged victim at the ages he says he was assaulted, Muszynski described the boy’s difficult childhood and family life as he developed a close relationship with Winfield, his 6th grade special education teacher.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Watched by Judge Roy Hayes, defense attorney Dan White presents an opening statement in the trial of Heather Winfield in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court on Wednesday.

A family-like relationship between the two eventually led to sex, the prosecutor said.

In interviews with police, the boy described hotels where he said Winfield took him for sexual trysts and purchases she made from a local sex toy shop, the prosecutor told jurors.

Muszynski promised to present witnesses to corroborate the boy’s story, including an FBI agent specializing in the manipulative habits ­– or “grooming” — used to control a child, which the prosecutor said were exemplified by Winfield.

“Don’t let her groom you, too,” she told the jury.

In selecting cherubic school photos to enlarge, the prosecution presented the wrong picture, Defense Attorney Dan White told the jury in his opening remarks.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Judge Roy Hayes, right, speaks to attorney Alan Curtis about courtroom acoustics during a break in the trial of Heather Winfield in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court on Wednesday.

He described the alleged victim as a troubled youth with a track record of uncontrolled behavior who made outrageous claims about sexual interactions with Winfield, including that the two engaged in sex 12 times in one night and, at other times, with other people in the same bed.

A familial relationship between the student and teacher became violent, with the boy hitting Winfield and her family and destroying property, culminating in the boy raping Winfield when he was 13, White told the jury.

The attorney showed the jury enlargements of text messages the boy sent to police and to Winfield, seemingly saying he lied in his allegations against the teacher.

After opening statements, the prosecution called several witnesses, including former Alpena Public Schools officials Justin Gluesing, former APS assistant superintendent for human resources, and Steven Genschaw, retired principal of Thunder Bay Junior High School, where Winfield taught.

The school officials described Winfield as an effective teacher who received positive annual reviews and said she developed a rapport with the alleged victim other staff members had been unable to achieve.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Former Alpena Public Schools teacher Heather Winfield waits next to her attorney during the opening day of a trial on Wednesday in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court.

When a former girlfriend ― who also testified on Wednesday — in 2016 reported inappropriate social media messages she said Winfield sent the student, the school launched an investigation and Winfield resigned, the officials testified.

Brief testimony by the alleged victim, who took the stand shortly before Hayes released the jury for the night, will continue today.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Steven Genschaw, retired principal of Thunder Bay Junior High School, testifies in the trial of Heather Winfield in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court on Wednesday.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Judge Roy Hayes, seated, confers with, from left, defense attorneys Alan Curtis and Dan White, Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski, and defense attorney Matt Wojda during a sidebar in the trial of Heather Winfield in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court on Wednesday.