Teacher Monique Ooms secretly had sex with a 16-year-old boy…but won’t go to jail

A teacher who admitted to having sex with her 16-year-old student in the back seat of her car has escaped jail after the judge ruled she was not a predator.

Monique Ooms, 31, of Maffra, was sentenced to four years in prison with 300 hours of community service for the crime by Victoria District Court Judge John Smallwood on Friday.

She pleaded guilty to four counts of sexually penetrating a child under her supervision and care this month in Latrobe Valley District Court in Victoria.

Monique Ooms, 31, from Maffra has repeatedly had sex with her young student. She will not spend a minute behind bars for her crime

The 31-year-old seems to have embraced her new traditional life, posting photos of herself with an Akubra in front of an SUV on her social media pages

For over 30 minutes, Judge Smallwood outlined the contributions to society Ooms had made and the hardship she endured in the community after she was exposed as a child sex offender.

The court heard that Ooms had been abused by strangers on the street and had been fired from her jobs at a pharmacy and the local pub.

Her local Country Fire Association had given her the boot and the Footy Club didn’t want a pole from her anymore.

Ooms was facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The court heard that the young Ooms victim – who was just weeks away from turning 17 – had snuck out in the middle of the night to have sex with his then-school teacher.

The 16-year-old had mourned the loss of a close friend who died in a fatal car accident the week before and was in an “emotionally distressed situation”.

But Judge Smallwood made it clear that he did not believe Ooms was a sexual predator.

“I could say right off the bat that I don’t find this insult predatory in any way, shape or form,” he said.

“It was a totally inappropriate relationship that escalated. They were both aware of the legal incorrectness of it all.”

While Judge Smallwood accepted the crime carried a prison sentence, he said he had difficulty doing so because of the student’s age.

“This is a situation the victim was in within a month of his 17th birthday. Questions of consent, presumption of damage – all possible questions will be answered in a timely manner,” he said.

Judge Smallwood said he accepted that Ooms had shown remorse for her insult and learned the fault of her conduct.

“I accept that you now have insight into the potential dangers to your victim, if I do say so myself,” he said.

Monique Ooms, 31, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexually penetrating a child under her supervision and care in Latrobe Valley County Court

The former teacher (right) had reached out to the student after realizing she was more withdrawn, offering her her Instagram name and later her phone number

During a preliminary hearing earlier this month, Judge Smallwood said he had never dealt with a case involving a teacher where the child was not under the age of 16.

The experienced judge said he was concerned whether or not Ooms’ victim had actually been harmed by their illegal connections.

“Often in these situations, the harm is what comes from other people after it’s been made public,” he said.

Judge Smallwood said Oom’s victim was a schoolboy but not a child under the age of 16.

“There have clearly been discussions between him and her about the wrongfulness. He still agrees and makes that very clear,” he said.

The student declined to be involved in a court case, but his mother read emotional testimony in court.

She said she was worried about her son’s future and how her family would overcome the inadequate student-teacher relationship.

The court heard the student had tried to defend his twisted abuser.

“She’s a very nice person and I know for a fact that she wasn’t trying to attack me to try to be a predator or anything,” he told police after Ooms was released.

“And I think she really had feelings for me and I know I did. As much as it’s wrong, as much as I knew it felt wrong, I know she’s not like that… I never wanted it to end like this, and I never wanted her to feel like she could handle it must.

Judge Smallwood said he accepted that Ooms had shown remorse for her insult and learned the fault of her conduct.

Ooms was tricked by police into getting into a text exchange with a friend in which she made confessions

Ooms’ attorney Katherine Rolfe said her client had no criminal record, was of previous good character and accepted the offense was serious

Judge Smallwood further accepted that the public’s treatment of Ooms, rightly disgusted by their antics, had acted as punishment in their own right.

‘You’re going to be threatened, yelled at and taunted on the street – that’s part of the game, especially in a small country town when you’re being accused of something that serious,’ he said.

“It’s pretty clear that the level of abuse and defamation for someone as fragile as you has undoubtedly fueled more suicidal thoughts in recent months.”

Judge Smallwood suggested that Ooms was unlikely to survive prison due to her fragile mental state.

“I have no doubt that prison would be disastrous for you,” he said.

At the conclusion of his verdict, Judge Smallwood expressed concern at not commenting further on his decision.

“I won’t say anything else if I get into trouble,” he said.

Judge Smallwood previously said the offense Ooms committed was not the act of having sex with the boy but the fact that she was his teacher and that her crime was a breach of trust created by law.

“You use the word minor. Is he? I mean I don’t know. Those are the things I worry about,” he said during their preliminary hearing.

Monique Ooms leaves court earlier this month, followed by reporters

Ooms officially taught a number of subjects to high school students and was only a year at Sale Secondary College before the illicit relationship began

The court heard that Ooms had exploited her student in the weeks following his friend’s death in a car accident.

While the pair initially chatted via social media and phone, Ooms was soon sending her students photos of herself in her underwear.

In July of last year, the two shared their first kiss and discussed all the things that were wrong about what had happened.

When they next met, the two were having sex in the back seat of Ooms’ car while parked in a forest at night.

The court heard Ooms had sex with her student in the back seat of her car at least four times over the next few weeks before meeting at her home.

Ooms’ sleazy relationship was discovered when someone wrote two letters to the headmaster, who promptly alerted the police.

While Ooms initially attempted to deny her antics, she eventually confessed to police after being tricked into making confessions via text message to a friend.

The court listened to the question “You actually did it, didn’t you?”. she replied ‘yes’.

Ooms seems to have now embraced life as tradition and has posted photos on her social media pages wearing an Akubra and posing in front of an SUV.

Ooms officially taught a number of subjects to high school students and was only at the school a year before the illicit relationship began.

The news revealed that the couple have repeatedly said they “missed” and “loved” each other, with Ooms claiming she fell in love with the student.

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