Former Langley elementary school teacher Deborah Ralph has been banned for life from teaching in B.C.
In a consent agreement the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation cancelled her teaching certificate and Ralph agreed not to apply to teach ever again.
In March, Ralph admitted to sexually assaulting a former student at James Kennedy Elementary from 1998 to 2001, while the boy was between the ages of 11 and 13.
Supreme Court Judge Selwyn Romilly handed down a two-year conditional sentence to be served at home and in the community.
The 59-year-old Langley resident was also ordered not to have any contact with the victim or any child under the age of 14, excluding her grandchildren. She was also placed on the Sex Offender Registry for 20 years.
After years of depression, along with alcohol and substance abuse, Ralph’s victim came forward to Langley RCMP in 2011, the court learned.
Ralph was charged shortly afterward.
The Teachers’ Regulation branch suspended her from teaching that same year.
In June 2012, the teachers’ branch terminated her employment.
At the sentencing hearing, the victim read his impact statement, saying Ralph stole his childhood, his innocence and caused him irreparable harm, causing him to start drinking and using drugs as early as 12-years-old.
He considered suicide on several occasions and suffers from depression. He also has a difficult time with relationships.