Latest news with #ValourAcademy
CTV News
22-07-2025
- CTV News
Former Christian school director found guilty of assault with a weapon
A former private Christian school director has been found guilty on all nine charges of assault with a weapon. During her two-hour decision, Justice Lisa Watson found John Olubobokun, 65, hit students with a wooden paddle while he was a director at Christian Centre Academy from 2003 - 2007. The school has since changed names twice, first to Legacy Christian Academy, and is now known as Valour Academy. Olubobokun's trial began in June 2024 with nine former students testifying that he hit them with a wooden paddle. The trial then resumed in March with testimony from defence witnesses including Olubobokun himself. During his testimony, he denied paddling any students. He agreed paddling was part of the disciplinary process, but said it was carried out by the principal. He testified wooden paddles were removed from the school in 2004, following a Supreme Court ruling that banned corporal punishment. In her decision, Watson said she found Olubobokun was not credible, citing several inconsistencies in his testimony. She also found he changed demeanour during his testimony and was evasive in cross examination. Watson believed paddles continued to be used in the school following the supreme court ruling. She found the crown's witnesses credible and believed all nine students were hit with a wooden paddle. Former student Caitlin Erickson said hearing the verdict was validating. A sentencing date has yet to be set.
CBC
26-05-2025
- CBC
Trial of former private Christian school administrator cancelled, next steps unclear
Social Sharing A former administrator charged with assaulting students at a private Christian school in Saskatoon was scheduled to have a jury trial this week. But while the jury was told to go home and the court was expecting a guilty plea on Monday, that didn't happen. Ken Schultz, a former director and vice-principal at Christian Centre Academy, is charged with assault with a weapon for allegedly striking students with a wooden paddle in the early 2000s. He is also charged with sexual assault. Christian Centre Academy has since been renamed Legacy Christian Academy, then Valour Academy. Schultz had elected to have a jury trial, but earlier this month re-elected to have a trial by judge alone. A resolution to the case was expected to happen in Saskatoon Court of King's Bench on Monday. However, his lawyer Shea Neudorf said in court Monday that "discussions broke down" with Schultz when they were discussing "plea comprehension" — essentially, what's involved in a guilty plea — and the defence team was "not in a position to proceed." She asked Justice Krista Zerr for an adjournment until Friday. Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo told the judge she had been prepared to proceed until she was told the defence would be applying for an adjournment. The judge granted the adjournment and scheduled a conference call between herself, the lawyers and Schultz on Friday afternoon. She said the reason for holding a conference call rather a court appearance was an "attempt to avoid members of the public and interested parties attending court if the matter is not going to proceed in a substantive way on Friday." They're expected to discuss Friday whether they'll be setting a court date for an anticipated joint submission and sentencing, or whether the defence lawyers will be withdrawing and Schultz will have to find a new lawyer and set new trial dates. Schultz is not the only administrator from the school charged with hitting students with a wooden paddle. Last week, a jury found Duff Friesen, a former principal, guilty of one charge of assault with a weapon and not guilty on three others. He is awaiting sentencing. There is a publication ban on all the evidence at that trial, as Friesen has another jury trial, on seven similar charges, set for September. John Olubobokun, a former director at the school, stood trial on nine counts of assault with a weapon. The provincial court judge in his case heard closing arguments earlier this month and is scheduled to give her verdict on July 21.
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
Jury acquits former Legacy Christian Academy principal accused of paddling students on 3 of 4 charges
A jury has acquitted Duff Arthur Friesen, the former principal of Legacy Christian Academy in Saskatoon, on three of four assault charges after he was accused of hitting students with a wooden paddle two decades ago. The six men and six women on the jury deliberated for about five hours Wednesday before delivering the verdict to Justice Natasha Crooks at Court of King's Bench. There is a court-ordered ban on publishing any evidence from the trial because Friesen has a second jury trial, on seven similar charges, set for September. Friesen's lawyer, Daniel Mol, said outside court that he would be appealing the one guilty count. Friesen declined to comment. He faced a total of 11 counts of assault, all stemming from allegations that, as principal of the private Christian school in the 2003-04 school year, he hit students with a wooden paddle. The school has since changed its name to Valour Academy.
CBC
12-05-2025
- CBC
1st of 2 jury trials begins for former principal of Saskatoon private Christian school accused of assault
The former principal of a private Christian school in Saskatoon is getting his day in court. Duff Arthur Friesen's jury trial at Court of King's Bench before Justice Natasha Crooks began Monday in Saskatoon. Friesen is facing 11 counts of assault, all stemming from allegations that, as principal of Legacy Christian Academy in the 2003-2004 school year, he hit students with a wooden paddle. The school has since changed its name to Valour Academy. Seven days have been set aside this month for the trial. It will deal with four of the charges, with the remaining seven examined in a separate jury trial in September. Crooks granted a publication ban requested by Friesen. Her order prevents reporting on "any evidence led, submissions made, exhibits filed, or victim impact statements in the event sentencing is required," she wrote April 7. "To be clear, this publication ban does not extend to the verdict rendered in the May Jury Trial, any plea which may be entered in relation to the charges, nor to any sentence which may be imposed by the Court." In his application, Friesen argued that ongoing media coverage of the trial this month may prejudice the jury in the September trial.
CBC
02-05-2025
- CBC
Lawyers make closing arguments at assault trial for former director at Saskatoon Christian school
Lawyers have made their closing arguments at the trial for a former director of a private Christian school in Saskatoon. John Olubobokun, 64, is charged with nine counts of assault with a weapon for allegedly using a wooden paddle to hit students. The charges date back to when he was the director at Christian Centre Academy for four years starting in 2003. The school was later renamed Legacy Christian Academy, then Valour Academy. The trial in Saskatoon provincial court began in June 2024 with testimony from nine students and other Crown witnesses, then continued in March with defence witnesses. On Friday, defence lawyer Ron Piché argued the testimony Olubobokun gave in his own defence, as well as the testimony of other defence witnesses, raises reasonable doubt. "He was very clear that as director, he was not responsible for this type of conduct, this type of discipline," Piché said. Piché questioned why the students didn't go to their parents or to police at the time of the alleged paddlings and why there are no photographs of bruising. Judge Lisa Watson interjected to note that Piché's musings were "speculative," particularly given the insular nature of the community of the school and its associated church. Piché also insinuated the former students have a financial interest in the outcome of the case, as there is a separate civil case — a proposed class-action lawsuit — against the school and connected church. There was some discussion about Section 43 of the Criminal Code, which reads: "Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances." In 2004, a Supreme Court of Canada ruling narrowed the scope of the section, including by saying an object cannot be used. It defined "reasonable" force as that which would have a "transitory and trifling" impact on the child. Referencing the use of objects, Watson asked Piché if he had any case law where an instrument is used and it falls within the parameters of Section 43. "No," Piché answered. Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo argued that by virtue of the allegations, "with the implement being used," there is no defence under Section 43. She said it was important for the court to hear about the "unique situation" of how the school was run and interconnected with the church, and the consequences students and their entire families would face for speaking out. The school and the church are in the same building. "These were people that were at the church almost daily — at the school, at the church, at this building, almost daily," Fillo said. In response to Piché's reference to the civil suit, Fillo pointed out how, during their testimonies, she asked each former student about when they decided to come forward to police, and that they all had reasons for doing so when they did. The judge is scheduled to give her decision on July 21.
