Former Alberta teacher sentenced to 4 years for sexually assaulting student

Catherine Valiquette (Source: Facebook)

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

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

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

Catherine Valiquette pleaded guilty to sexual interference last December.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Valiquette was a Grade 9 teacher at Graminia School in Parkland County when she began a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student in April 2022.

Valiquette added the student, who was in her science class, on the social media app Snapchat and the two began conversing for hours each day.

Court documents found the nature of the chats became increasingly sexual and ultimately led to a physical relationship outside of school.

The victim's sibling became aware of the communication and notified their parents, who confiscated his phone.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the boy and Valiquette, who was 29 years old at the time, began to talk in a Google doc and developed codes between them, such as the use of "143" which meant "I love you."

As the relationship progressed, the boy would ride his bike to meet Valiquette, who would drive them to a rural area in her vehicle, where the pair would engage in sexual activities, including intercourse, court heard.

According to the documents, a condom was not always used and the pair frequently used baby wipes to clean up, disposing of them at the scene.

Several of these wipes were ultimately recovered from the scene by police, according to the court documents.

Valiquette and the victim stopped communicating in June 2022 and the boy told his parents about the relationship the same month.

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

During an investigation police found a sweater belonging to the victim in Valiquette's possession.

She initially told police she had bonded with the boy but had not engaged in sexual activity with him.

Sentencing decision

During the sentencing hearing on Friday, the mother of four addressed the court in person and apologized for her actions.

"What I did goes against everything I stand for," she told the court, adding she always tried to provide a safe and supportive space for students in her teaching career.

"I take accountability for my actions and again I’m so sorry."

She has not worked as a teacher since she was charged in August 2023.

In victim impact statements previously read in court, the parents of the boy said they were haunted by feelings of failure over not being able to protect their son.

The boy's father said he believed Valiquette's communication with his son had been a "calculated and manipulative" attack to convince him that he lived in an abusive home.

He said his relationship with his son has been damaged since the abuse.

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

The parents said they and their three children have attended weekly counselling since the abuse was uncovered at a cost of $35,000 and will likely have to attend counselling for some time.

The defence had asked for a conditional sentencing order of two years minus a day followed by probation, while the Crown argued for a five year prison sentence.

Justice Kimberly Palichuk found that a term of less than two years was not a fit sentence, but did take into account Valiquette's early guilty plea as well as the remorse she had exhibited.

Justice Palichuk said Valiquette had groomed the boy and took significant steps to conceal her actions, adding that as a teacher, she was in a significant position of trust.

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