The judge said he would not jail her due to the ‘sheer fragility’ of her mental state
A female teacher who admitted to having sex with a 16-year-old student in the backseat of her car has avoided a jail sentence.
Monique Ooms, 31, of Maffra in Australia, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual penetration of a child under her supervision and care.
But today, Judge John Smallwood told her that he would not send her to jail despite fears that decision could be overturned on appeal.
According to Daily Mail reports, Ooms’ young victim had snuck out in the dead of night to have sex with his then-school teacher.
The 16-year-old had been grieving the loss of a close friend who died in a fatal car crash the week before and was in a “vulnerable situation emotionally”.
The relationship came to light when someone wrote two letters to the school principal, who promptly alerted police.
Ooms initially attempted to deny her antics, but she eventually confessed to police after she was duped into making admissions to a friend via text message.
The court heard when asked ‘You did actually do it, didn’t ya?’ she responded ‘Yeah’.
On Wednesday, Ooms’ barrister Katherine Rolfe argued her client should be spared jail because she’s suffered ‘public shame’ and lost her job.
She said her client had no criminal history, was of previous good character and accepted the offending was serious.
Judge Smallwood said he would not jail Ooms due to the “sheer fragility” of her mental state.
“I don’t want there to be any accidents when it’s not necessary if you understand what I’m saying,” he said.
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