Former Brantford high school teacher Shawn Oakes was sentenced Tuesday to two years less a day in jail — the maximum term sought by the Crown — for having sex with a student.

But before he was sentenced, Oakes, 38, was given a chance to confirm an admission of guilt he made to a probation officer for a pre-sentence report.

“Does your client wish to say anything?” Justice Catrina Braid asked Oakes’s lawyer, Zack Kerbel, in Ontario Superior Court.

“I’m offering one final opportunity. Has he changed his mind?”

When Oakes and his lawyer indicted there would be no statement, Braid delivered her sentence.

In June, Oakes, 38, was found guilty of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching after a seven-day, judge-only trial. Braid agreed to conditionally stay both the sexual assault and invitation to sexual touching charges. The law says an accused should only be convicted on one charge for one action.

“Mr. Oakes admitted to the writer of his pre-sentence report that he committed these crimes and would complete a program of counselling,” Braid said.

“He said he could see the trial was difficult for the victim and his family, However, his counsel has asked me to not put any weight on those statements so I can’t count them as a factor.”

The judge said she was left in a difficult position because the defence touted Oakes’s rehabilitation prospects but offered no insight about why the crimes were committed.

Kerbel had asked for a sentence of 10 to 13 months for Oakes. He suggested that his client’s rehabilitation would be aided by supportive family members and friends.

But Braid noted that some of those same family members and friends have attacked the reputation of the young victim in the case.

“They would not likely assist Mr. Oakes in his rehabilitation.”

Braid also dismissed as mitigating factors the defence’s suggestion that Oakes has been punished by losing his teaching job and that he is suffering financially.

She said she did take into consideration that Oakes is a first offender, an active and contributing member of the community who has enriched the lives of others, and that he maintained a set of restrictive bail conditions for almost three years.

But Braid noted that victim was 15 at the time of the crimes and confused about his sexuality and vulnerable.

The judge said Oakes showed poor judgment by taking the student to his own home.

“He abused a position of trust and his authority as a high school teacher.”

Braid said the impact of the crime on the victim was huge, noting the teen was bullied and belittled by his peers, forced to transfer schools though the gossip followed him, and became severely depressed and suicidal.

“His father and mother described the significant impact on the entire family.”

Once released from jail, Oakes will be on probation for three years.

And He must provide a DNA sample for the national offenders database, remain on the sexual offenders list for 20 years and avoid all work that would put him in a position of trust to anyone under 16 for 20 years.

Braid also ruled that Oakes must not be within 200 metres of where his victim lives, works, goes to school or attends worship for three years and can’t be near the teen’s home for 20 years.

At the request of the Crown, a charge of child pornography, relating to an image of another student found on Oakes’s phone, was dropped.

A spokesperson for the Grand Erie District School Board confirmed that Oakes is no longer an employee.

The Ontario College of Teachers website notes that Oakes’s licence was suspended in April for non-payment of fees.

During the trial, the victim said he was invited for coffee with Oakes in 2015 and then to the teacher’s home, where the two engaged in consensual sex acts. Throughout the trial, Oakes maintained his innocence.

Oakes’s victim, who was in the court to hear the sentence, accompanied by his parents, said he’s relieved.

“Hopefully, coming forward has prevented anyone else from going through what I had to, from start to finish.”

The teen’s father said “in a situation like this, nobody wins.

“However, we are grateful that Justice Catrina Braid heard us and (my son) can begin the process of moving on.”

SGamble@postmedia.com

@EXPSGamble