The woman at the centre of a sex scandal at a Black Diamond high school did not attend her first appearance in court last Friday.

The accused woman’s lawyer, who also did not come to Okotoks court Friday, sent instructions with another lawyer, to ask the case come back on Feb. 26.

The Crown prosecutor in Okotoks told the court that their case is “voluminous” and would not be available for the defence until next week.

Nadine Nesbitt, a Crown prosecutor on a special team dedicated to sex crimes, is assigned to the case. She appeared in Okotoks court, but did not speak to the matter.

Defense lawyer Lisa Burgis will represent Tanya Marie Cossette, 39, of Black Diamond, who is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation, luring a child, one count of communicating with person under 18 for the purposes of obtaining a sexual service and trafficking marijuana.

Turner Valley RCMP laid the charges on Jan. 25. Students who had heard rumors circulating around the school alerted the RCMP to the alleged crimes and police spoke with school staff.

An investigation turned up a number of suggestive text messages and phone calls. Any police evidence has not yet gone to trial.

According to police, in the fall of 2007 a student received text messages from the woman and they had sexual relations, but there were no drugs involved. A year later a second victim met with the woman, who provided him and his friends with marijuana. Police said neither of the boys was physically injured in their dealings with the woman.

In June the school sent home a letter with students acknowledging there was an investigation into inappropriate conduct of a staff member. Foothills School Division superintendent Jim McLellan said students were offered support at that time. He called the allegations “a terrible thing.”

The woman, who was the school’s business manager, resigned in June. She handled the school’s budget and did accounting work and had been employed at Oilfields High School for seven years. She had been at a High River school prior to being in Black Diamond.

Police made an appeal for anyone else who felt victimized to contact them.

Const. Tom Christie of the Turner Valley RCMP said no one has stepped forward since the charges were laid.

The case will return to Okotoks provincial court on Feb. 26.

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