Female teacher, 47, who was 'nauseous with guilt' over her non-consensual sex with 16-year-old girl gets a suspended sentence – as judge takes into account her difficult childhood
- Lee Brown had sex with her then-16-year-old student in the shed of her home
- The teenager and a friend were staying the night at the 61-year-old's in 2007
- Brown pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent in Supreme Court
- She was placed on a good behaviour order and given community service
A female teacher who had served time in jail for her relationship with a 16-year-old student has avoided further jail time for other offences involving the same girl, as the court took into account her own difficult childhood.
Lee Brown, then a 47-year-old teacher at Yass High School near Canberra, had sex with her 16-year-old student in a garden shed at her home in 2007.
Brown, now 61, faced the ACT Supreme Court on Monday after she pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent, ABC News reported.
Lee Brown (pictured left) had non-consensual sex with her 16-year-old student in a garden shed at the back of her home in 2007. She was given a suspended sentence on Monday
Brown (pictured) pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service in a trial at the ACT Supreme Court
The court heard Brown, a drama and English teacher, had known the girl for several years before their sexual encounter.
Brown met the student and her friend at a shopping centre in Canberra before they accompanied Brown back to her house.
The two friends decided to stay the night in Brown's garden shed, which is where the first offence against the 16-year-old occurred.
Justice John Burns described the initial sexual activity between the teacher and student as 'spontaneous'.
'I am not convinced your behaviour was predatory,' he said.
The court heard Brown continued to abuse the girl once she had left school, and had spent time in jail in New South Wales for those offences; she was sentenced to 13 months with three months non-parole in May 2018.
Brown previously told the ACT Supreme Court the teenager had initiated the tryst in the shed by kissing her.
She said they had discussed how the situation was wrong but the teenager reassured her.
Brown taught at Yass High School (pictured) near Canberra. She has also spend time in jail in New South Wales for other offences against the same former student
Brown resigned as a teacher after the girl told her mother about the encounter, and instead took work at Canberra's jail.
The former student told the court the sexual encounter had left her feeling 'violated and intimidated'.
'I still get flashbacks about what Ms Brown did to me,' she said.
'I carried the idea I was disgusting.'
'Thirteen years ago Ms Brown decided to use my body for her pleasure. For 13 years I am the one who had to pay the price for that.'
Ms Brown's current partner described her as a kind person who felt deeply remorseful over her past actions.
'She said she felt nauseous with guilt,' Brown's partner told the court.
Justice Burns said Brown had good prospects for rehabilitation and a low risk of re-offending.
In sentencing, he said Brown's moral culpability was reduced due to her difficult childhood and ongoing post-traumatic stress disorder.
He sentenced her to 200 hours of community service and imposed a good behaviour order for 12 months.
ACT Supreme Court (pictured) Justice John Burns took into account Brown's difficult childhood and post-traumatic stress disorder when delivering her sentence
No comments: