DICKESON GIVEN 13 MONTHS ON DRUG CHARGES

Notorious For High-School Sex Scandal, He Fails To Sway Judge With
Show Of Remorse

A young Sechelt man and aspiring rapper at the centre of a sex scandal
involving his former high-school teacher was sentenced yesterday to 13
months in jail for cocaine trafficking and obstructing a police officer.

B.C. Sup-reme Court Justice Allan Stewart accepted the Crown's
recommendation that Dustin Dickeson, 23, spend time behind bars after
he was convicted of possession for the purposes of
trafficking.

Dickeson was arrested in May in Sechelt carrying a can of WD-40 with a
false bottom, with 34 decks of cocaine in powder and crack cocaine
form. He was taken into custody after intitially fleeing police.

He pleaded with the judge for mercy, saying he was trying to turn his
life around, but his performance was not convincing.

"The offender's submission to the effect that he has learned his
lesson is rejected by me," said the judge. "His presentation
[Wednesday] -- remorseful, contrite and abashed -- was the exact
opposite of when he testified before me during the [trial]."

Stewart cited Dickeson's lengthy criminal record, including
convictions for assault causing bodily harm and driving while
prohibited, and the fact that he was on probation when he was arrested
on the drug charge.

"He has at the age of 23 compiled a record of an individual heedless
of society's norms."

Dickeson, who sat quietly in the prisoner's dock with his head bowed,
also received a lifetime firearms and restricted-weapons ban.

Jerome Williams, Dickeson's lawyer, had argued for either a
conditional sentence for his client or that he be released after being
credited for time already served in custody.

Dickeson first achieved notoriety when he had a sexual relationship
with former Sechelt teacher Heather Ingram, who was subsequently
sentenced to 10 months house arrest for exploiting a minor. Ingram
later appeared on a TV talk show to talk about her affair with
Dickeson, who was 17 at the time.

Dickeson went to court to lift a ban on publication of his name so
that he could exploit his new-found fame for his career as a rap musician.