A former Hamilton police officer will not go to jail for sexually assaulting the woman he was mentoring as she pursued her own career in policing.

Michael LaCombe, 54, will instead serve 12 months of house arrest followed by 12 months of probation after Justice Cameron Watson found him guilty of two counts of sexual assault in January, following a trial.

Watson sentenced LaCombe on Monday at the Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Ont., describing his crimes and the aftermath as “a spectacular and cataclysmic fall from grace” in his written decision.

“His life has taken an irreparable downward spiral. He is no longer the man he once was,” Watson wrote.

Watson also described how LaCombe’s conduct “devastated” the victim, who has felt isolated and suffers from panic attacks, among other impacts, in recent years.

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    Watson sentenced LaCombe on Monday at the Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Ont., describing his crimes and the aftermath as “a spectacular and cataclysmic fall from grace” in his written decision.

    “I understand and have no doubt this has destroyed his life and he’s suffering a form of exquisite agony and to keep the sword hanging over his head — not knowing what’s going to happen — in my opinion, as a fellow human being, is unnecessary,” Watson said.

    She feels isolated at work as a police officer, suffers from panic attacks and has developed a “strong fear and distrust of men,” Watson wrote.

    After Watson found him guilty, LaCombe resigned from the police service — before a disciplinary hearing was held — and he was discharged from the military, of which he’d been a member for decades.

    Watson determined LaCombe didn’t deserve incarceration for his crimes because he’s led a life of “exemplary service,” has no prior criminal record and is remorseful, according to his written decision.

    “This offence involved his ham-fisted attempt to engage in an extra marital affair with a friend, albeit with an extremely serious impact on [the victim],” Watson wrote.

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