Teacher, 40, who sexually abused a teenage student and sent explicit texts to another is sentenced to 15 months of house arrest

  • Former Nova Scotia teacher with bipolar disorder sexually abused one teenage male student and sent sexually explicit texts to another 
  • Was sentenced to house arrest by a judge who said the mandatory minimum of one year in jail was too harsh
  • Judge said there was only one incident involving Hood performing a sex act on a Grade 9 student, and no physical contact in interaction with a Grade 11 student
  • Hood’s bipolar disorder was a factor in determining her sentence
  • She will have 24 months of probation and sign onto the sex offenders registry
  • Hood is also banned from being around places where children are for 10 years 

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 22:55 EST, 14 December 2016 | Updated: 00:44 EST, 15 December 2016

A former teacher from Canada with bipolar disorder who sexually abused a teenage male student and then sent sexually explicit texts to another has been sentenced to 15 months of house arrest.

Carolyn Amy Hood, 40, of Stellarton, Nova Scotia was facing a one-year jail term but Judge Del Atwood told a court that he felt it would be 'grossly disproportionate' to the crimes committed.

Atwood said there was only one incident that saw Hood performing a sex act on a grade 9 pupil at Thorburn Consolidated School, who was 15-years-old. 

Carolyn Amy Hood, 40, was sentenced to 15-months of house arrest after being found guilty of sex crimes involving two students at the school where she worked

Former Thorburn Consolidated school teacher Amy Hood was handed a 15-month conditional sentence for sexual exploitation and luring of two teenage boys

A separate encounter with a grade 11 student who was 17-years-old involved no physical contact.

The judge took into account the former teacher's exemplary record in the classroom and her difficulty with bipolar mood disorder in deciding that a prison term was not justified.

'Don't think of this as a break or as a result of the season,' Atwood told Hood as she stood to accept the penalty. 'This is a lawful sentence.'

Hood will now undergo two years of probation and will have to sign onto the nation sex offenders registry. She is also banned from attending any place where children are present for the next ten years unless accompanied by an adult.

Her lawyer, Joel Pink noted that Hood had acted on spontaneous opportunities rather than through calculated actions.

Hood has three children of her own. She must stay away from places where children are for 10 years, unless accompanied by an adult

Hood was found guilty in April of sexual interference, sexual exploitation and two counts of luring minors over the Internet for a sexual purpose. Hood sent explicit sexual photos of herself to the teens online.

On one of the teens, Hood performed oral sex on him as the two sat in her car in the driveway of his home.

Judge Atwood said psychological assessments found that Hood was unlikely to reoffend and that she was not a predator who targeted teenage males. 

The single physical episode was put down to Hood having access and opportunity as opposed to the former teacher targeting or threatening the teen boys. 

In October, Hood issued a public apology blaming her mental illness and saying her 'deceitful actions' in 2013 betrayed the students' trust and caused pain and trauma for their families. 

Hood was married with three children at the time of the offences.

'I truly believe in my heart that without the onset of bipolar disorder, none of these events would have ever occurred,' she told the judge.

'I want to reiterate my deep and immeasurable remorse for my actions that led to these charges ... It is something I will feel regret for every day for the rest of my life.'

Hood stated that she is now taking medication and attending psychiatric sessions to deal with her mental illness.

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