COEUR d'ALENE - Kimberly Durlin was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for having sex with her 14-year-old adopted son.

But Kootenai County District Court Judge John Mitchell gave her a second chance by recommending Durlin, 32, enter a sex-offender treatment rider program.

"I'm not a punishment-oriented judge," Mitchell told Durlin after handing down his sentence. "But I can't abide by placing you on probation and serving a little amount of jail time."

The rider is a sentencing option in Idaho that allows the court to retain jurisdiction over Durlin for a set period of time while she participates in educational and therapeutic programs during her incarceration at Pocatello Women's Correctional Center.

At the end of Durlin's one-year rider period, Mitchell will review Department of Correction documentation detailing her progress. Mitchell will then decide whether to release Durlin on probation, or impose the entire prison sentence.

Before her sentence was imposed, Durlin was given the opportunity to address the courtroom. With teary eyes, the former Rathdrum resident said she has had time to think about her conduct and has been seeing a therapist daily to address the issue.

"I am appalled and ashamed at myself that I committed these acts," Durlin said.

She went on to describe several issues - including incidents in her youth, her inability to have children, and a tumultuous marriage - as contributing factors to her being in the mindset to believe that having sex with her adopted son was "an acceptable way to earn his love."

"I am in no way trying to excuse my actions because they were simply inexcusable," Durlin said.

"You were the adult in this situation. You were the mother in this situation," Mitchell told Durlin after she concluded her remarks. "He will suffer from this for the rest of his life. In fact, I think he knew this and that's why he called it off when he did."

Durlin was charged in November 2014 with five counts of lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16. In an April 20 pre-trial settlement deal with the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office, Durlin pleaded guilty to two of the felony charges and the remaining three were dropped.

On Nov. 18, 2014, Durlin was with her son at a therapy session in Hayden when the boy allegedly told his therapist that he and his mother were having sex. The therapist then notified her supervisor of the allegations and, according to court records, the supervisor said the boy should go home with Durlin while the office notified Idaho Health and Welfare.

However, shortly after leaving, the teen returned to the office and said he did not want to go home. The therapist later told a Rathdrum Police Department officer that the boy said he got into the car, and Durlin angrily said "You told them, didn't you?"

After discussing options with the therapist and a Child Protective Services employee, the officer wrote that they decided to place the boy in protective custody.

The next day, Durlin went to the Rathdrum Police Department to speak with a detective about the allegations. In his report, the detective wrote that Durlin and her husband adopted the boy when he was 11.

"She told me that (he) had never really bonded with her and she has struggled with this since the start of their relationship," the detective wrote. "She told me that she has tried just about everything to kindle that relationship and nurture their bond."

Durlin then allegedly provided details of multiple sexual encounters with the boy, beginning in October. After giving this information to the detective, Durlin allegedly "showed signs of being emotionally attached" to the teen "as a lover instead of being a mother."

"The feelings she expressed were more along the lines of a female being hurt by a boyfriend or possible husband," the report states. "She felt like she was being used as a sex object."