Content warning: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some.

A former teacher in Alberta has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing a student.

The sentence was handed down Friday in a packed courtroom in Stony Plain.

Catherine Valiquette pleaded guilty to sexual interference last December.

According to the agreed facts, Valiquette was a 9th Grade teacher at Graminia School in Parkland County when she had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old student in April 2023.

Valiquette added the student, who was in his science class, to the social media app Snapchat, and the two began chatting for hours every day.

Court documents found the conversations became increasingly sexual in nature, ultimately leading to a physical relationship outside of school.

The victim’s brother learned of the communication and notified his family, who confiscated his phone.

Catherine Valiquette (Source: Facebook)

According to the agreed facts, the boy and Valiquette, who was 29 at the time, began talking in a Google document and developed codes, including the use of “143” meaning “I love you.” “

According to the court, as the relationship progressed, the boy would ride his bicycle to meet Valiquette, who would drive them to a rural area, where the couple would engage in sexual activities, including sexual intercourse.

Condoms were not always used, and the couple frequently used baby wipes for cleaning and destroyed them at the scene, according to the documents.

Many of those wipes were seized by police from the scene, according to court documents.

Valiquette and the victim stopped communicating in June 2023, and the boy told his family about the relationship later that month.

His family reported the abuse to the RCMP and the school.

During the investigation, police found a sweater belonging to the victim in Valiquette’s possession.

He initially told police he bonded with the boy but did not engage in sexual activity with him.

penalty decision

At Friday’s sentencing hearing, the mother of four personally addressed the court and apologized for her actions.

“What I did goes against everything I stand for,” he told the court, adding that in his teaching career he always tried to provide a safe and supportive space for students.

“I take responsibility for my actions and again, I am deeply sorry.”

He has not worked as a teacher since he was charged in August 2023.

In victim impact statements read out in court earlier, the boy’s parents said they were haunted by feelings of failure for failing to protect their son.

The boy’s father said he believed Valiquette’s contact with his son was a “calculated and manipulative” attack to convince him that he was living in an abusive home.

She said her relationship with her son had suffered since the abuse.

The boy’s mother described the abuse as her “worst nightmare” and was worried about her son’s future due to society’s lack of support for male victims of sexual abuse.

The parents said they and their three children have been attending weekly counseling since the abuse came to light, at a cost of $35,000, and will likely have to attend counseling for some time.

The defense sought a conditional sentence of two years minus one day followed by supervised release, while the Crown argued for a five-year sentence.

Judge Kimberly Palichuk found that less than two years was not an appropriate sentence, but took into account Valiquette’s early guilty plea as well as the remorse he displayed.

Judge Palichuk said Valiquette groomed the boy and took significant steps to conceal his actions, adding that as a teacher he was in a significant position of trust.

In addition to a four-year prison sentence, Valiquette is also subject to a DNA order and a weapons ban.