A former high school teacher from the Moncton area has been handed a two-and-a-half year sentence for sex crimes involving a student.
William MacGillivray, once a teacher at Moncton’s Harrison Trimble High School, expressed little emotion at his sentencing on Thursday.
In March, a jury found the 43-year-old guilty of sexual exploitation, child luring and obstructing a police officer.
The crimes were committed between March and November 2013 and involved a 17-year-old girl who was a student at the time.
The jury heard the MacGillivray contacted her by text message after a friend of hers told him she was depressed and self-harming.
That led to a late-night meeting at the teacher’s house involving wine, which turned sexual but did not involve intercourse, the victim told the court.
In her impact statement, the victim said the crimes had a serious impact and set her life back.
MacGillivray testified during the trial and denied the victim’s claims.
On Thursday in a Moncton courthouse, he was sentenced to 30 months behind bars for the exploitation charge, 12 months for child luring and six months for obstruction, which are to be served concurrently.
That makes for a total of about two-and-a-half years, less 104 days credit for the time MacGillivray served prior to the trial.
The Crown had asked for a five-year sentence, saying MacGillivray had shown no remorse, while the defence attorneys asked for 18 months.
When asked today if he had anything to say to the court, MacGillivray said he did not.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s David Bell
