A former Nova Scotia junior high school teacher will go to trial in October after pleading not guilty to half a dozen sex charges involving two teenage boys.
Carolyn Amy Hood's lawyer entered the plea in a Pictou courtroom Tuesday afternoon.
Both the crown and defence lawyers met privately with the judge, prior to open proceedings.
The 39-year-old accused did not attend.
“As you know, under the criminal code, if a designation of counsel has been filed, I can act on her behalf,” says defence lawyer Joel Pink. “Since we elected to be tried by a provincial court judge, there's no need for her to be here.”
Hood was arrested in January of 2014 following an 11-week police investigation.
At the time, she was a Grade 6 teacher at Thorburn Consolidated School, which serves grades primary through nine.
The charges against her date from March through September of 2013.
They allege sexual contact with two boys, one under the age of 16 and the other under 18.
“There are two counts of luring, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, and sexual assault,” says Crown attorney Bill Gorman.
Hood is also facing three charges of breaching her conditions of release, including possession of a cellphone and not reporting a change of address to police.
The Crown says the luring allegations involve communications that are not exclusively about sexting.
“Not really online, I guess, I wouldn't say, but by electronic media would probably be the best way to say it,” says Gorman.
Ten days have been set aside for the trial in front of a provincial court judge. It is scheduled to begin Oct. 19.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
