A Greater Victoria woman has been sentenced to five and a half years behind bars for luring and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Judge Ted Gouge handed down the sentence on Sept. 14 after finding the woman, who is referred to in court documents as “Ms. P.,” guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one count of internet luring.
The incidents occurred in April 2020, when Ms. P. and her friend encountered a group of boys from their neighbourhood who asked the women to provide them with alcohol in exchange for some cannabis.
The women agreed and bought alcohol for the boys, who then joined the women for a party. During the party, Ms. P., who was 25 at the time, had sex with one of the boys in her bedroom, according to the judge’s decision.
A few days later, Ms. P sent a text message to the 15-year-old boy, inviting him back to her house for a “hot make-out sesh.” The boy accepted and went back to her house where the two again had sex, leading to the second count of sexual assault and the charge of internet luring.
The experience left the boy with diminished self-esteem and persistent difficulty finding happiness in the things he used to enjoy, he told the court in a victim impact statement.
“After this happened, I stopped caring about life, and I don’t really try anymore,” he said. “I don’t care what foot goes forward – before I cared about school and my grades, lacrosse but this changed my outlook on that. I started overthinking everything… I just sit by myself and think about stupid stuff that I can’t control and I feel stuck in those thoughts.”
The judge cited the boy’s continued emotional and physical suffering as factors in his sentencing decision.
“It is necessary to reject the stereotype that teenage boys are less vulnerable to the sequelae of sexual assault than are teenage girls,” he wrote.
“To impose a lesser sentence on a female offender than that which would be imposed on a male offender for a similar crime would infringe the rights of male offenders,” the judge added.
The judge also found Ms. P. attempted to minimize her responsibility for the crimes in her presentencing submissions when she told the court that there is no law to “hold a minor to account for lying about their age.”
“The responsibility for preventing sexual activity between adults and youths always lies upon the adult,” the judge said.
Ms. P. was sentenced to two years less a day for each of the two counts of sexual assault, plus 18 months for internet luring. The sentences are to be served consecutively.
