P.E.I. school counsellor sentenced to 5 years in prison for sexual abuse of student
'This offence involved a profound and egregious breach of trust,' says chief justice
A former Prince Edward Island school counsellor who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a student she used to counsel at an intermediate school has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Bethany Jean Toombs, 42, pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual interference — which is the sexual touching of a person under the age of 16 — earlier this year.
“This offence involved a profound and egregious breach of trust,” Chief Justice Tracey Clements said in delivering her oral decision.
She also described the victim in the case as “young and vulnerable.”
CBC News is withholding some details about Toombs’s crime to protect the privacy of the student victim, who was a male under the age of 16 and has been described as having a difficult family background and being high needs.
Toombs sexually abused the boy through sexual intercourse on dozens of occasions outside of the school setting. The abuse happened in the months after their official counselling relationship had ended at East Wiltshire Intermediate School in Cornwall, just outside of Charlottetown.
Judges in Canada have very little wiggle room to reject joint sentencing recommendations.
Speaking from the bench Friday, Clements herself called it “rare” and explained that while she heavily considered all the factors, she can only reject what the defence and Crown put forward if it would bring the justice system into disrepute or be contrary to the public interest.
At the sentencing hearing in May, the defence and Crown both spoke about why they thought five years was a fit sentence.
Among the aggravating factors were that Toombs used her position of trust as a counsellor to facilitate the abuse of a vulnerable underage person, to whom she also gave cannabis and alcohol.
In contrast, Toombs received some credit for changing her plea to guilty and sparing the victim the trauma of having to testify about his experiences in a jury trial.
The victim never submitted a victim impact statement, but both sides agreed that child victims of sexual violence suffer significant harm.
“Children under the age of 16 are simply incapable of giving consent,” Clements said Friday, quoting from another Supreme Court decision. She also added that a victim’s participation in the sexual acts does not take away from the fact that adults have the responsibility to prevent it from happening.
Clements made a point to speak about how sexual crimes against children are abhorrent and “remain a plague on our society." She described Toombs as someone with a “high degree of moral blameworthiness.”
Toombs won’t be able to have contact with the victim throughout her prison sentence or for 10 years after her release. She’s also banned from being in paid or volunteer positions of trust over children and will be a registered sex offender for 20 years.
‘End of one chapter’
Toombs has been living in the community since she was released after her arrest in September 2024 on an arrangement similar to house arrest until July 2025. Since then, she hasn’t even worn an ankle monitor.
”The court knows, relatively speaking, little about this offender,” Clements said of Toombs, who had declined to have a pre-sentence report completed.
That document normally paints a picture of the offender’s life and any personal circumstances that might be relevant to why they did what they did.
The court heard Toombs’ life had been described as “admirable” prior to the child sex abuse coming to light — she had no criminal record, was an active community member and volunteer and helped many children as a guidance counsellor.
But since she was arrested, her marriage fell apart, she was shunned by her social circle, had to delete her social media accounts due to harassment and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The court has heard Toombs has the support of her family, but none of them were in the courtroom Friday as she learned her sentence.
“This decision brings to a close one aspect and one aspect only of this matter: the imposition of sentence. However the practical reality is that this matter is far from over. The offender is embarking not only on a lengthy custodial sentence, but also — I hope — embarking on ongoing significant self reflection and rehabilitation,” Clements said.
“And while the decision may mark the end of one chapter for the victim, there will undoubtedly be many more chapters and I expect a very long journey, which I hope involves healing.”
Clements then left the courtroom.
Toombs was handcuffed and led away, with just the clothes she was wearing and a small reusable shopping bag in tow.
Alberta man accused of committing sex crimes against minors while out on bail
- June 25
- News
- 2:09
RCMP have charged a man with sexual offences involving minors in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. There are four alleged victims so far, ranging in age from 12 to 18, and police believe there may be others.
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