A 40-year-old teacher who had an intense and inappropriate relationship with her young student won't have to serve any jail time after pleading guilty to sending sexually explicit material to the girl and contacting her when she wasn't allowed.
Virginia Genevrier was sentenced to six months in jail for sending a sexually explicit video of herself to the girl, but that's covered by the time already served in pre-trial custody.
She was also sentenced to 20 months to be served in the community for breach of conditions, including seeing the student when she was ordered not to.
The non-physical relationship began in 2014 when the girl was 11 and lasted four years, despite a warning from the girl's mother who discovered the correspondance between the two.
Genevrier testified that she never had any sexual intentions or premeditation.
During her testimony, Genevrier said her love for the girl fell somewhere between her love for her husband and her young daughter.
Trial evidence showed Genevrier had a difficult childhood marked by divorce and feelings of being abandoned by her father.
Genevrier said she saw herself in the girl and only wanted to help her so she could have a better adolescence than the one she had.
Judge Hélène Morin ruled that Genevrier had a total lack of judgment and had the responsibility to end the relationship with her student, now 16.
Genevrier cannot communicate with the girl for five years.
She must also perform 240 hours of community service over 18 months and must participate in a special program for sexual delinquency.
For the first 10 months of house arrest, Genevrier is confined to her home 24 hours a day except for work and community service. She must observe a curfew between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. during the second half.
Morin told a teary Genevrier that if she fails to meet her conditions, she'll have to serve out the full 20 months behind bars.
After her sentence, Genevrier will be on probation for two years.