MARK NIELSEN / PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN
In issuing her decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church agreed entirely with Crown prosecution's decision on sentencing, noting it was actually at the low end of the range for the offences in question.
She was sentenced to 18 months on two counts of inviting a person under 16 years old to sexual touching and to a consecutive term of one year for one count of making child pornography.
Defence counsel had argued for two years less a day plus three years probation, arguing that the woman had pleaded guilty to the counts, had no previous criminal record, was remorseful, cooperated with the authorities and committed the crimes over a short period of time.
But Church found the case law simply does not support such a lenient sentence and described the actions as a "gross breach of (the woman's) trust obligations to her children."
She also noted the term will be served in the federal system which provides treatment programs for female sexual offenders, in contrast to the provincial one.
A court-ordered publication ban against information that would identify the son and daughter prohibits the woman's name from being printed.
The acts occurred about a half-dozen times over a two- to three-month period beginning in early November 2010 when the children were 11 and 12 years old.
Fort St James, B.C.
The law caught up to her in April 2013 when police uncovered the images on the man's computer and traced them back to her home.
The man was eventually sentenced to four years in prison with the woman testifying at his preliminary inquiry in Calgary.
At the time of the incidents with her children, the woman had been drinking and smoking marijuana and had come off a failed marriage in which she was the victim of abuse, the court had heard.
Although it turned out to be the same person, the man had taken on different personalities in a scheme to coax her into the acts.
She complied with the man's demands in order to maintain the relationship and because he had threatened her and the children, the court had heard during a hearing on sentencing in August. She finally broke off the relationship and stopped drinking, telling her children "mum grew up," and later told a parole officer she had "let her guard down," the court has also heard.
In victim impact statements, the children said they continue to suffer significant emotional trouble with feelings of anger, fear, anxiety and lack of trust. Both want no contact with the woman.
Church also barred the woman for five years, once she's completed her sentence, from jobs or volunteer positions in which she is in a position of trust or authority over someone under 16 years old and from being in contact with anyone under that age unless in the presence of a parent or guardian. The woman's name will also be in the national sexual offender registry for life.
Fort St James, B.C.
A 37-year-old Fort St. James, British Columbia woman was sentenced Monday to 2.5 years in prison for making pornography involving her son and daughter and then sending the images and videos to a man she met through an internet dating site
In issuing her decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church agreed entirely with Crown prosecution's decision on sentencing, noting it was actually at the low end of the range for the offences in question.
She was sentenced to 18 months on two counts of inviting a person under 16 years old to sexual touching and to a consecutive term of one year for one count of making child pornography.
Defence counsel had argued for two years less a day plus three years probation, arguing that the woman had pleaded guilty to the counts, had no previous criminal record, was remorseful, cooperated with the authorities and committed the crimes over a short period of time.
But Church found the case law simply does not support such a lenient sentence and described the actions as a "gross breach of (the woman's) trust obligations to her children."
She also noted the term will be served in the federal system which provides treatment programs for female sexual offenders, in contrast to the provincial one.
A court-ordered publication ban against information that would identify the son and daughter prohibits the woman's name from being printed.
The acts occurred about a half-dozen times over a two- to three-month period beginning in early November 2010 when the children were 11 and 12 years old.
The law caught up to her in April 2013 when police uncovered the images on the man's computer and traced them back to her home.
The man was eventually sentenced to four years in prison with the woman testifying at his preliminary inquiry in Calgary.
At the time of the incidents with her children, the woman had been drinking and smoking marijuana and had come off a failed marriage in which she was the victim of abuse, the court had heard.
Although it turned out to be the same person, the man had taken on different personalities in a scheme to coax her into the acts.
She complied with the man's demands in order to maintain the relationship and because he had threatened her and the children, the court had heard during a hearing on sentencing in August. She finally broke off the relationship and stopped drinking, telling her children "mum grew up," and later told a parole officer she had "let her guard down," the court has also heard.
In victim impact statements, the children said they continue to suffer significant emotional trouble with feelings of anger, fear, anxiety and lack of trust. Both want no contact with the woman.
Church also barred the woman for five years, once she's completed her sentence, from jobs or volunteer positions in which she is in a position of trust or authority over someone under 16 years old and from being in contact with anyone under that age unless in the presence of a parent or guardian. The woman's name will also be in the national sexual offender registry for life.
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