Two former staff members of Legacy Christian Academy pleaded not guilty to assault charges on a co-accused file in Saskatoon provincial court Thursday morning.
Former principal Duff Friesen and director John Olubobokun will go to trial as co-accused on four charges of assault with a weapon, according to a Saskatoon judge.
Olubobokun is also set to go to trial June 10 to 13 on eight individual charges of assault with a weapon.
Several former students of Christian Centre Academy changed seats in the courtroom Thursday morning to sit directly behind him and his family.
Friesen is facing seven individual charges of assault with a weapon but has not entered his plea yet.
Two other former staff members of the school, once known as Christian Centre Academy, are also facing charges before the court. Former vice-principal and director Ken Schultz is committed to trial May 15 to 16, 2024 to fight charges of sexual assault and assault with a weapon. Aaron Benneweis, former athletic director, pleaded guilty in October to sexual assault and will be sentenced by a judge on Jan. 4, 2024.
All four are named in a $25-million lawsuit against Mile Two Church, which operates the school. None of the allegations of physical and sexual abuse have been proven in court.
Quentin Pelletier, 2007 Christian Centre Academy graduate, said that while the not guilty plea to the co-accused charges was disappointing, a trial will offer former students a platform to be heard.
“We are happy that at the very least, we will have our day in court,” Pelletier said. “It gives students the chance to tell their stories in a court of law and be heard.”
Pelletier said he and his siblings attended Christian Centre from kindergarten to grade 12.
“These stories are being heard and taken seriously.”
Friesen and Olubobokun’s trial date for the co-accused charges will be set on Nov. 30 at 9:30 a.m. in Saskatoon provincial court.
- London Drugs remains closed, says it is reviewing billions of lines of data
- Trump trial hears recording discussing hush money scheme: ‘What do we got to pay?’
- Parents of 3-month-old baby killed in wrong-way Highway 401 crash also hurt
- 4th youth charged with murder in killing of 16-year-old outside Halifax mall
Comments