Manitoba woman who admitted to having a four-month-long sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

The now 26-year-old accused previously pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference. She is not being named to protect the identity of her victim.

"Absent rare exceptions, adults -- male or female -- who engage sexually with children under 16 can expect to go to jail for a significant term," Justice Robert Dewar said at a sentencing hearing earlier this month.

According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, the accused met the then 13-year-old victim in late 2012 while working with his mother at a rural Manitoba hotel.

The accused and victim "struck up a friendship that eventually turned sexual," said the agreed statement of facts. The victim "was infatuated with (the accused), he developed a crush on her."

The accused admitted to having sex with the boy on five occasions at her home, his home, her truck, and the hotel where she worked.

The boy believed the accused was his girlfriend and he was a "willing participant" in the sexual activity," said the agreed statement of facts.

The boy's mother became suspicious of their relationship, confronted her son, and contacted police in April 2013. By that time, the boy had been placed in the care of Child and Family Services and the sexual relationship had come to an end.

The accused claimed in a pre-sentence report prepared for court that she did not feel the boy's mother treated him well and she felt sorry for him. Letters of support provided for court said the woman's "heart was in the right place."

"When you offer to drive a friend to the airport or help them move, your heart is in the right place," Crown attorney Chantal Boutin told court at a sentencing hearing last month. "When you have sex with a child, that's not about where your heart is, that's a crime."

The standard starting point for sexual interference cases involving "factual consent" is three years, with sentences increasing or decreasing depending on the circumstances.

Boutin recommended the accused be sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison, arguing a number of aggravating circumstances supported a sentence longer than the three year starting point.

Dewar rejected a Crown argument the accused took advantage of the boy, knowing he was "vulnerable."

"I'm not convinced that this particular victim was more vulnerable than the average 13- or 14-year-old boy," Dewar said. "The fact that the accused initially felt some compassion for the boy and wanted to help in other than a sexual way takes the case away from a situation where a child is targeted or lured into the sexual activity."

Dewar also refused a Crown recommendation the accused not be allowed to have contact with children under 16 for a period of three years after her release from custody.

"I am not convinced that a one-time relationship ... is a sufficient reason for imposing such a restriction," Dewar said. "I recognize that the protection of children in our society is paramount. However, ordering such a provision in every case of first offence sexual interference displays an unjustified mistrust of an offender, especially after serving the sentence imposed upon him or her."