A high school teacher from Sydney, Australia broke down in court this week as she faced charges for having sex with her student.

Monica Elizabeth Young was 23 years-old when she began sexting with her 14 year-old student, telling him “it’s dangerous if we get caught,” according to 7News. Young began working as a teacher in March of 2020, just before the state was plunged into lockdown and online learning began.

“Students could message you up until midnight. There were no boundaries for online teaching,” Young told Sydney’s District Court.

Young would go on to block the victim from the online classroom “for inappropriate comments on the feed,” but when he messaged her on Instagram, she found his Snapchat account. From there, the two of them exchanged messages about the sexual acts they wished to perform on each other and sent each other nude photos.

When in-person classes resumed, Young and her victim would have sex in empty classrooms, during a movie screening with other students nearby, and even once on a staircase. She was once caught on a security camera driving to visit the student in a park teenager in a park after she messaged words to the effect of “it’s dangerous if we get caught, but if you do it, it’ll be worth it.”

Young was caught after the victim’s parents saw her sitting in a car with him. They contacted the school principal, who called the police.

Young was arrested in July of last year, and she has since pleaded guilty to three charges of having sexual intercourse in aggravating circumstances, as the teen was under her authority. In court on Thursday, Young became emotional as she read a letter of apology to the victim and his family.

“I am unable to fully express how sorry I am for my actions that have negatively impacted (the boy) and his family,” she said. “(The boy) trusted me and I abused that trust which may have severe impacts on his future. I deeply regret allowing the relationship to progress as far as it did. I studied for four years … to guide young people … but the lines got blurred.”

Young is due to be sentenced on July 8. Prosecutors have recommended that she be sent to prison.