Former Alberta teacher sentenced to 4 years for sexually assaulting student

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

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

Catherine Valiquette pleaded guilty to sexual assault last December.

According to the agreed statement, Valiquette was a ninth-grade teacher at Graminia School in Parkland County when he had sex with a 15-year-old student in April 2023.

Valiquette added the student, who was in her science class, to the social media app Snapchat, and they chatted for hours every day.

The chats became increasingly sexual in nature and eventually led to a physical relationship outside of school, court documents show.

The victim's siblings found out about the correspondence and informed their parents, who confiscated his phone.

According to the agreed statement, the boy and Valiquette, who was 29 at the time, began chatting on a Google document and developed codes between themselves, such as "143" which meant "I love you."

As the relationship progressed, the boy would ride his bicycle to meet Valiquette, who would take them in his car to a rural area, where they would engage in sexual activities, including sex.

According to the documents, condoms weren't always used and the couple often used baby wipes to clean up and threw them away.

According to court documents, several of these tissues were eventually recovered by police at the crime scene.

Valiquette and the victim broke up in June 2023, and the boy told his parents about their relationship that same month.

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

During the investigation, the police found a sweatshirt belonging to the victim in the possession of the wallet.

She initially told the police that she was romantically involved with the boy but did not have sex with him.

Conviction decision

During Friday's sentencing hearing, the mother of four appeared in court in person and apologized for her actions.

"What I did goes against everything I stand for," he told the court. And added that he has always tried to provide a safe and supportive environment for students during his teaching career.

"I take responsibility for my actions and I'm still sorry."

He has not worked as a teacher since his indictment in August 2023.

In victim impact statements read earlier in court, the boy's parents said they felt defeated at not being able to protect their son.

The boy's father said he believed Valiquette's relationship with his son was a "calculated and manipulated attack" to convince him he was living in a violent home.

She said her relationship with her son was damaged after the abuse.

The boy's mother called the abuse her "worst nightmare" and worried about her son's future because society does not support male victims of sexual abuse.

The parents said they and their three children have been in weekly counseling since the abuse was discovered, at a cost of $35,000, and will likely need counseling for some time.

The defense attorney had asked for a sentence of two years minus one day plus probation, while the prosecution had asked for five years in prison.

Judge Kimberly Palichuk found that a term of less than two years was not an appropriate sentence, but took into account Valiquette's early plea of ​​guilty, as well as his remorse.

Judge Palichuk said the governor had raised the boy and had taken considerable steps to conceal his actions, adding that as a teacher he was in a position of considerable trust.

In addition to the four years in prison, Valiket is under a DNA order and a weapons ban.

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