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Originally Posted by Desnudo
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Student sex teacher may avoid jail
By Gosia Kaszubska
05nov04
A FEMALE teacher who had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy might not be jailed after a judge said the student's consent could be a mitigating factor in her sentence.
The Victorian County Court heard the teenager did not see himself as a victim in his relationship with Karen Louise Ellis, a former physical education teacher.
Ellis, 37, yesterday pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual penetration with a child under 16.
The married mother of three repeatedly had sex with the boy at her North Eltham home, in Melbourne's north, while her husband was away for work in October and November last year.
During the pre-sentence hearing, judge John Smallwood said a jail term was "inevitable", but the unusual circumstances of the case meant it could be wholly suspended.
While Ellis's lawyer, Brian Bourke, said imprisoning his client would be "out of proportion", prosecutor Kieran Gilligan said the law recognised the vulnerability of children, and Ellis should be jailed for her "gross breach of trust".
"Consent is not a defence to these counts," Mr Gilligan said.
Judge Smallwood responded: "Consent is not a defence to guilt, but it has to be a mitigating factor, doesn't it?"
Mr Gilligan replied: "If there wasn't consent, it would be a rape charge, it wouldn't be a sexual penetration charge."
The court heard that after her arrest, Ellis told police she did not stop to think about the boy's age but knew she was in trouble when she learned he was turning 16.
"What can I say, it's a stupid teacher taking advantage," she said. "He's only young, I should have known better. He was just going on his feelings, really, but it was pretty strong feelings."
The court heard Ellis was remorseful and embarrassed about the relationship, although the pair had kept in contact since it ended.
The boy, who failed Year 10 at school and is now estranged from his family, told police the relationship had "no effect" on him, the court heard.
In September, the teenager, then aged 16, told the Seven Network's Today Tonight program he would probably "have a laugh" in future about the affair. "I'd say if it doesn't affect me now, I don't see how it's going to affect me in years to come," he said.
Ellis's husband, Stephen, told the court yesterday he moved out of home for several weeks in May, but had returned and was trying to "make a go of it".
"I just hope it can all be finished and we can go back to a normal life," he said.
Judge Smallwood said that in sentencing, he would take into account Ellis's remorse and the boy's assertions he had suffered no damage.
"My view would be that a wholly suspended sentence would be at the lower end of the range but not outside the range," he said. "It's not my view she's a danger to the public."
The maximum penalty for the charge of sexual penetration with a child under 16 is 15 years' jail.