A woman who orchestrated a wave of terror in Saskatoon by sending packages with a mystery powder to individuals, businesses and schools pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon.

The judge overseeing her plea accepted a joint sentencing submission, so she could be out of jail by the fall. That will be followed by three years of probation, which will include psychiatric treatment.

Prosecutor Jennifer Claxton-Viczko said that getting Emerson help after her release is key to preventing a future repeat of what happened in 2016 and 2017.

"The probation order will assist the offender in rehabilitating by giving her three years of psychiatric care," she said outside court.

"I think anybody looking at the circumstances of the offenses, the obvious obsessive nature of harassing ex-boyfriend after ex-boyfriend after ex-boyfriend would leave even the common person with the belief that she needed some psychiatric assistance."

'Rampage' impacted numerous victims

Alexa Emerson was charged with a condensed 15 charges connected to the events of 2017. The scares paralyzed parts of Saskatoon. Entire city blocks were shut down and buildings evacuated.

"It was a rampage of social media terrorism," said one of the victims in court.

None of the victims wanted to speak to reporters after the four-hour hearing.

Claxton-Viczko read a 10-page agreed statement of facts into the record. It detailed how nine individuals were directly targetted by Emerson, along with 17 schools, businesses and hospitals. Another 25 people were victims who handled the white powder that had been mailed.

It proved to be baking soda, although the letter with the packages claimed it was anthrax.

Claxton-Viczko says the 81 charges were condensed down to 15, and Emerson pleaded guilty at Court of Queen's Bench. Claxton-Viczko said the 15 charges, in a new indictment, substantively reflect the substance of the original charges.

About 25 people were in the courtroom for the sentencing.

During the trial, eight victim impact statements were read, including one from a Saskatoon firefighter, who said she is "the most evil, manipulative person I have ever met."

Ex-boyfriends initial targets

An agreed statement of facts wove together how victims and targeted business were connected, with an overall theme of Emerson lashing out at men who jilted her, as well as their families, employers and friends.

The Crown and defence agreed on a joint sentencing submission of two years less a day, plus three years on a stringent probation, with psychiatric treatment.

With time served of 614 days, Emerson would spend another 115 days in jail.

Among her charges, the court heard Emerson sent bomb threats to schools in Saskatoon, Hague and all three Saskatoon hospitals.

Emerson's actions reached beyond Saskatoon as well.

U.S. actress Samantha Field said she believed videos she filmed claiming responsibility for the white powder scares in Saskatoon were from a fictional script. (CBC) At one point, local media outlets received a video from a young woman claiming responsibility for mailing the packages.

The young woman turned out to be a North Carolina actress who believed she was reading a fictional script.

"I'm glad this is being dealt with and hopefully it will finished quickly," Samantha Field wrote in a text exchange with CBC.

"This woman is being given a lot of attention and has already cost the city too much money," Field added.

Councillor Darren Hill also told CBC that the city should try and recoup the more than $200,000 racked up by emergency services to respond to the mailings and bomb threats.

While the substances recovered proved harmless — baking soda, in some cases — Wayne Rodger of the Saskatoon Fire Department told reporters after one incident that his crews must initially treat every report as "a worst-case-scenario."

The Crown is not seeking restitution.