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Edmonton Journal
20-05-2025
- Edmonton Journal
Six months in jail for ex-Alberta government employee, basketball coach who possessed child sexual abuse material
'I find a strong message of deterrence must be sent to the offender and to society at large." Get the latest from Jonny Wakefield straight to your inbox Ronald Feniuk, 61, buried his face in his hands Tuesday morning as Court of King's Bench Justice Shaina Leonard sentenced him to time in custody for possessing child pornography. Photo by Ed Kaiser / Postmedia, file Six months in jail is a just sentence for a former basketball coach and provincial government employee who amassed a collection of hundred of images of child sex abuse, an Edmonton judge has ruled. Ronald Feniuk, 61, buried his face in his hands Tuesday morning as Court of King's Bench Justice Shaina Leonard sentenced him to time in custody for possessing child pornography. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. 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Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Feniuk, an ex-Government of Alberta policy analyst arrested in 2023, pleaded guilty to a single charge last October, admitting he possessed around 400 images of child sex abuse across three devices, including his government-issue laptop. Citing case law instructing courts to increase sentences in cases of child sex abuse, Leonard said the defence's proposed community sentence 'simply does not address the gravity of this offence.' 'I find a strong message of deterrence must be sent to the offender and to society at large,' she said. Feniuk worked in the Alberta ministry of forestry and agriculture before his firing in the wake of the charges. In his spare time, he coached youth teams with Parkland Basketball, which banned him following news of his charges. Feniuk also taught Sunday school and volunteered at his church. The Crown did not allege Feniuk produced any of the images in his collection, nor that any of the material depicted children he taught or coached. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. According to an agreed statement of facts, police became aware of Feniuk after his internet service provider informed them someone had been accessing child sex abuse material on their network. Police searched Feniuk's home Jan. 19, 2023, and seized two phones and a laptop. The laptop turned up three videos of children being sexually abused, two of which Feniuk had attempted to delete, along with 381 still images in a cache folder. While the original images had been deleted, their thumbnail-size cache copies remained. The phones were also found to contain explicit images of children. According to the agreed facts, some of the videos depicted sexual assaults on young girls. Possessing child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Prosecutor Craig Krieger sought 12 to 18 months in jail plus three years of probation and bans to prevent Feniuk from interacting with young children. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Defence lawyer Kristofer Advent sought a conditional sentence order, to be served in the community. He cited the 'significant' steps Feniuk has taken since his arrest to address his offending, as well as the loss of his job and volunteer activities. Leonard decided a community sentence was not appropriate, citing the Supreme Court's 2019 Friesen decision, which said courts should impose tougher punishments for sexual offences against children. She said the 'mere existence' of such content causes lasting damage to children, and that too many view the possession of child sex abuse material as 'harmless' as they are merely consumers. 'A message must be sent to those people,' she said. Leonard stopped short of imposing the Crown's proposed sentence, however, acknowledging Feniuk's guilty plea and remorse for his crimes. She noted Feniuk was himself a victim of abuse as a child. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the wake of his pre-trial release, Feniuk was barred from being alone with his own children until the condition was relaxed following an investigation. He was also asked to begin attending church virtually rather than in person. While acknowledging Feniuk's hardships, Leonard said the loss of his job and volunteer positions — plus media coverage of the case — were ' the 'natural consequences' of his crime. In addition to the jail term, Feniuk will serve three years' probation and will have to register as a sex offender for 20 years. During her decision, Leonard went out of her way to criticize the Criminal Code's use of the term 'child pornography,' preferring the term 'child sex abuse material.' She quoted case law calling the term an 'Orwellian mischaracterization,' noting the term 'pornography' implies such content is consensual and legal. 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CTV News
20-05-2025
- CTV News
Stony Plain basketball coach sentenced to 6 months in jail for child pornography charges
Ronald Feniuk in a photo from his LinkedIn account. A Stony Plain basketball coach will spend six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to charges related to child sexual assault material. Ronald Feniuk received the sentence in an Edmonton courtroom on Tuesday morning. Feniuk pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography last October. He was arrested at his home in January 2023 after an investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team after the unit received a tip from the RCMP National Child Exploitation Crime Center in June 2022 about an unknown person in Alberta uploading child sexual abuse materials to a social media platform. The Crown had asked for 12 to 18 months in jail followed by probation, while the defence asked for a conditional sentence order followed by probation. In addition to the jail time, Feniuk also received three years probation. At this time of his arrest, Feniuk was also employed by the government of Alberta.
