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Catherine Paul
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Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
PRINCE ALBERT -- A 46-year-old former teacher has been
sentenced to 18 months in jail for sexual exploitation of a
14-year-old female student.
Catherine Paul was the staff facilitator of three extracurricular
clubs in which the Grade 9 student was a member during the 2006-07
school year, Crown prosecutor Ryan Claxton told Judge Stephen Carter
at Prince Albert provincial court Tuesday.
Paul, who is married and has a 15-year-old daughter, developed a close
friendship with the complainant during the school year. The two spent
time together in the classroom during noon breaks, at Paul's home and
while Paul supervised a writing club, a book club and the Gay Straight
Alliance at Carlton Comprehensive High School, Claxton said.
Catherine Paul walks into court Tuesday in Prince Albert
Gord Waldner, The StarPhoenix
The relationship evolved into an attraction and became sexual, with
encounters at the school on weekends and at Paul's home, Claxton said.
The girl's mother discovered the relationship by reading her
daughter's sexually charged e-mail on the home computer in May.
The messages showed Paul used her position as a teacher to hide the
relationship, Claxton said.
He referred to one exchange in which the two planned to be alone at
Paul's home when her husband and daughter were away. Paul suggested
the girl would not be noticed travelling to her home on the bus but
said the girl would have to come up with an explanation for being at
the house. The girl responded that she could say she was doing some
work for one of the clubs.
Paul was arrested and spent more than a month in custody before her
release on July 3.
She pleaded guilty in August to one count of sexual exploitation of a
person under the age of 18 to whom she was in a position of trust.
Claxton asked for a sentence of two years less one day.
Aggravating factors included the girl's young age, the fact she was
especially vulnerable because of her parents' bitter divorce and
custody battle and Paul's position of authority, Claxton said.
The girl does not feel like a victim and wants to maintain a
relationship with Paul, Claxton said, but he asked Carter to impose a
no-contact order and specifically to order the girl not be allowed to
visit Paul at the women's jail. Both orders were made.
Paul was also ordered to provide a DNA sample for the national
databank and will be registered on the national sex offender registry
for 20 years, Carter ruled.
Defence lawyer Jay Watson said until the law was changed in 2005 to
require a minimum 45-day sentence for the offence, persons guilty of
such a crime were eligible to serve sentences in the community. Now
the minimum penalty is 45 days in custody. The maximum is 10 years.
Watson asked for 45 days to be followed by probation. He noted Paul
has no other criminal record and provided the court with letters of
support.
The relationship began as an appropriate one based on common
interests, Watson said. Paul was not a predator looking for a
vulnerable victim he said.
"She became involved with a student and it just got too close. . . .
It crossed the line and she shouldn't have done what she did," Watson
said.
Watson told reporters Paul remains married.
The girl's mother said Paul is a careless person who brought
horrendous consequences upon her daughter.
"There's no way to justify (this) corrupt, deviant behaviour," the
mother said.
Paul robbed the girl of her innocence, the mother said, adding at 14
the girl is still a child, lacking in the life experience and
emotional maturity of an adult.
Paul allowed herself to believe in a fantasy that she and the girl
were equals, Claxton said, referring to a psychological assessment
filed with the court. Paul has since suffered reactive depression and
an eating disorder, he said.
Paul stood and apologized to her supportive family and friends, the
girl and her family, the community and her colleagues.
"There is no pattern of this behaviour in my life," she said.
She also directed an apology to parents, saying her actions do not
signal a systemic problem and children are safe in their schools.
Paul resigned in August from her job at Carlton, where she worked for
about 10 years.
She will be subject to a professional ethics review by the
Saskatchewan Teachers Federation, Lyle Vinish, general secretary of
the teachers regulatory and licensing organization, has said.
During sentencing submissions, Claxton referred to the 1999 conviction
of Debden teacher Margaret Carruthers, who was convicted of sexual
assault against student Donna Bouchard, who was 14 when the three-year
sexual relationship began. Carruthers was found to have used threats
to induce the girl to allow the activity. Carruthers was sentenced to
two years less one day.
Bouchard hired a lawyer to help her convince the court to lift a
statutory publication ban on her name.
Source:
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=6bda4210-1974-4650-9762-75b5ac7c62ae&k=78958&p=2 |
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