A former secretary at Oilfields High School was given a surprising break when she was given a two-year jail sentence for having sex with a student and luring another.
Tanya Cossette was even given a shorter sentence than what her lawyer requested. She will spend two years behind bars followed by two years probation.
It seems if the tables were turned and a male teacher or staff member had sex with a female student the sentence would have been much more punitive.
One of the reasons Cossette was given a shorter sentence was because of a lack of sex offender treatment programs for females in Alberta jails.
The Crown prosecutor asked for four years, but the judge agreed with her defence lawyer a shorter term in jail would allow Cossette to enter sex offender treatment sooner.
This is clearly a shortfall in Alberta’s jail system if a sexual predator can have their freedom sooner simply because the programs are not available to them in prison.
Cossette may never actually be free. She is now a registered sex offender and surely the media attention her actions have garnered will haunt her for perhaps the rest of her life.
However, she still needs to suffer the consequences of her actions and a shorter jail sentence does not send the right message.
Alberta’s justice system needs to address this loophole.
