Female teacher, 43, who had sex with a 17-year-old student is FREED after winning appeal against her jail sentence Teacher Sonia Ruth Mackay, 43, wins appeal against jail sentence on Thursday Ms Mackay been sentenced to jail last year over her relationship with a student The Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the more than four-year sentence Ms Mackay was handed a good behaviour bond following her successful appeal By Australian Associated Press and Adam Mccleery For Daily Mail Australia Published: 02:49 BST, 9 May 2019 | Updated: 02:49 BST, 9 May 2019 Viewcomments A teacher who admitted to having sex with a student has walked free from court after she successfully appealed against her sentence. Sonia Ruth Mackay, 43, was jailed last year after she pleaded guilty to the persistent sexual exploitation of a 17-year-old boy in an Adelaide Catholic school. However, the Court of Criminal Appeal on Thursday overturned the more than four-year sentence and handed her a good behaviour bond. During the sentencing in December, Judge Liesl Chapman said Mackay had struck up a sexual relationship with a student in her English class. Sonia Ruth Mackay, 43 (pictured, outside court during last year's sentencing), was last year jailed in December she pleaded guilty to the persistent sexual exploitation of a 17-year-old boy in Adelaide Though, the Court of Criminal Appeal on Thursday overturned the more than four-year sentence and handed her a good behaviour bond (pictured, the family of Sonia Mackay pictured leave the District court in Adelaide after her conviction last year) Over the course of a month, the pair also drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes and cannabis together, and Mackay bought the boy presents and a nose piercing. The boy's parents became suspicious and approached the school principal, who reported the matter to police. When confronted by his mother, the victim admitted the sexual relationship and said he was in love with Mackay. Judge Chapman said it was clear Mackay's crimes had devastated the victim and his family. 'Your behaviour was manipulative and unforgivable,' she told Mackay. 'You seem to have lost touch with reality and were living in some sort of fantasy land.' In a victim impact statement read to the court during the trial, the boy said he was an 'above-average student' who dreamed of becoming a dentist before he began receiving personal attention from Mackay. During the sentencing in December, Judge Liesl Chapman said Mackay had struck up a sexual relationship with a student in her English class (pictured, Mackay) 'Over the following months, we spent more and more time talking and texting and I lost all focus on my studies,' he said. 'A life of sex and alcohol with Sonia Mackay was more appealing than reading a book and writing assignments.' He said he withdrew from friends and family in fear of being caught and, when the relationship was discovered, he felt ashamed and embarrassed. The boy said he had been left with emotional, financial and physical impacts of Mackay's crime, including painful scars where she burnt his flesh with a cigarette 'These scars were inflicted as a way of marking me and showing that I belong to her,' he said. Mackay had initially been sentenced to four years, fives months in jail with a non-parole period of two years, one month. The boy's parents became suspicious and approached the school principal, who reported the matter to police The boy said he withdrew from friends and family in fear of being caught and, when the relationship was discovered, he felt ashamed and embarrassed Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility