A Nova Scotia woman convicted of harbouring two teenage boys has received a four-month conditional sentence, followed by 12 months of probation.

With her parents and husband by her side, Angelina Vernon learned she would not be going to jail.  

“I'm just very relieved it’s over and maybe now everybody can start to heal and move on,” Vernon said Tuesday as she appeared in Kentville provincial court Tuesday.

The 35-year-old Greenwood woman will be under house arrest for the first two months of her sentence. After that, she must meet certain conditions but will no longer be confined to her home. She has also been ordered to attend counseling sessions.

Initially, Vernon was also charged with sexually assaulting and touching four children under the age of 16.

The allegations date back to between December 2010 and March 2011 at Vernon's home on the base in Greenwood, N.S.

Vernonwas accused of grabbing a girl's breasts and a boy's genitals, as well as slapping their behinds, but she was found not guilty of the sex-related charges in June.

At the time of the verdict, the judge said she was left with reasonable doubt, calling one of the teen's testimonies problematic. At one point she said the teen's statement was ‘completely and totally inconsistent.'

Vernon was, however, convicted of keeping two brothers away from their parents.

She testified she kept the boys at her home because she was concerned for their wellbeing, despite knowing their mother didn’t want them to have contact with her.

"The thought of not being able to see my sons on a daily basis, to care for them, to hug them, and tell them I love them has left emotional scars that time will not heal,” the boys’ mother told the court.

The judge called Vernon’s actions “perplexing” and her call to Family Services “insincere.”

The Crown recommended that Vernon spend six months behind bars but the defence argued she had suffered enough after being verbally attacked and threatened physically.

“In the Crown’s view, this was a serious case involving children who were missing for around 30 days,” said Crown attorney Jim Fyfe.

“She’s been through an awful ordeal,” said defence attorney Chris Manning. “She’s been sentenced today. I think it’s a very fair sentence for what has taken place.”

Inside the courtroom, Vernon apologized for her actions.

“I’m really sorry for my poor judgment and bad decisions,” she said. “It’s been a very hard lesson learned.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster