PICTOU, N.S. — A former Nova Scotia teacher who sexually abused one teenage male student and sent sexually explicit texts to another has been sentenced to 15 months of house arrest.
Carolyn Amy Hood faced a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail, but CTV News reports that Judge Del Atwood said such a punishment would be "grossly disproportionate" to her crimes.
Atwood says only one incident involved Hood performing a sex act on a Grade 9 student in Pictou County, while her texting interaction with a Grade 11 student involved no physical contact.
The judge says Hood's bipolar disorder was a factor in determining her sentence, which includes 24 months of probation and inclusion on the national sex offenders registry.
Hood was found guilty in April of sexual interference, sexual exploitation and two counts of luring minors over the Internet for a sexual purpose.
In October, the 40-year-old woman issued a public apology in a provincial courtroom in Pictou, N.S., saying her "deceitful actions" in 2013 betrayed the students' trust and caused pain and trauma for their families.
