Former principal Duff Friesen faced sentencing in Saskatoon, with a Crown prosecutor advocating for jail time over an assault on a student twenty years ago. Friesen’s defense lawyer pushed for a conditional discharge, arguing against custody time and a criminal record if release conditions are met. A jury at a Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench convicted Friesen of one assault count in May and acquitted him of three others. The Crown prosecutor sought an eight-month jail term followed by two years of probation, while Judge Natasha Crooks postponed the decision until December 18.
Due to a scheduled second jury trial in September 2026, there is a court-ordered ban on publishing any trial evidence, including victim impact statements submitted for sentencing. Friesen faces seven counts of assault during his tenure at Christian Centre Academy, later renamed Legacy Christian Academy and then Valour Academy, closely linked to Mile Two Church, now Encounter Church. Allegations surfaced from former students claiming that some school leaders in the early 2000s used a wooden paddle for punishment. John Olubobokun, a school director, was found guilty of student assaults with a wooden paddle and received an 18-month community service sentence in November. Olubobokun has another trial set to commence on December 2, facing two assault counts related to his time at the school.
Another figure, Ken Schultz, a former director and vice-principal at Christian Centre Academy, faces charges of assault with a weapon for allegedly using a wooden paddle on students in the early 2000s, along with a charge of sexual assault. Schultz has two trials scheduled, one in May 2026 and the other in June 2026. In July, a Saskatoon judge dismissed a $25-million class action lawsuit from 2022 against Legacy Christian Academy and Mile Two Church due to undisclosed previous settlement agreements with three defendants named in the suit.