The second of eight young men named in the sexual abuse trial for Philip Heerema began testifying Tuesday.
Heerema was a former long-time employee of the Calgary Stampede’s performance group, The Young Canadians, until a police investigation in 2014.
READ MORE: Lawsuit claims Calgary Stampede had prior knowledge of alleged sexual abuse in The Young Canadians
The witness, whose identity is protected by a court-imposed publication ban, testified Heerema asked him to send explicit photos.
Watch below from Jan. 16: The first of eight people named in a sex abuse case involving ex-Young Canadian Philip Heerema testified in Calgary court Tuesday. Nancy Hixt explains the allegations.
He testified he was chatting with Heerema on Facebook Messenger and Heerema asked him to switch to iMessage “because it’s more secure.”
“We were communicating for most of the Christmas break. It progressed from a friendly conversation…to more personal,” the witness said.
He testified Heerema suggested they share photos — first wearing underwear, then without underwear.
“They depicted my genitals,” the witness said.
He told court Heerema sent photos of himself with and without underwear back to the teen.
The witness said he deleted the pictures from his phone.
“I didn’t want there to be any proof that I had done that. I was ashamed.”
Get daily National news
He said Heerema continued to message him after that. He said he felt he didn’t have a choice but to continue responding.
“I didn’t want to be talking to him, I felt very uncomfortable,” he said.
When classes resumed after the 2013 Christmas break, he said he continued to feel uncomfortable, and tried to avoid Heerema.
He testified Heerema kept sending messages, asking him to meet following rehearsals that week.
He said he told Heerema he was busy, and even called in sick later in the week. But the following Sunday, he said Heerema persisted in asking to meet with him.
“After rehearsal, he came to the door to the men’s dressing room with my reference letter I had asked him to write…I didn’t feel I had a choice.”
The witness said he went to the back room with Heerema.
“He took my hands in his hands…he said he worried he would have police knocking on his door,” he testified.
He said Heerema expressed interest in continuing chatting and exchanging pictures.
“…that he’d like to continue having a close friendship with me, that we don’t necessarily have to go f–k in the corner of the studios all the time but that we can have fun.”
The witness told court the meeting ended with Heerema asking for a hug.
“I was very upset because I felt I was completely trapped in the situation, because I couldn’t talk to anyone about what was happening, because then Phil would presumably get in trouble…and I didn’t want Phil to get in trouble.
“I was very upset and depressed…I was completely trapped.”
“To me it didn’t seem like an option to tell anyone about what had happened because Phil was so involved in my life,” he told court, adding he also felt embarrassed.
A short time later, he said Heerema again called him into his office.
“He said to be careful because if anything in our Facebook messages got out, it wouldn’t be good for me or for him.”
He testified Heerema confirmed the photos had been deleted, and said the meeting again ended with Heerema asking for a hug.
“I was really upset by that conversation and really concerned. It felt, to me, really threatening.”
Within days of that meeting, the complainant said he went to his parents, then to the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.
He said he disclosed some of what had happened, but did not tell anyone about the photos, hoping no one would ever find out.
The witness said he provided his electronic devices and passwords to police.
Earlier in his testimony, the witness described Heerema’s role in The Young Canadians. He said Heerema was a chaperone on the group’s annual performance trip to Disneyland and told court he and three other teens were specifically assigned to Heerema.
All four of the teens in that particular group are witnesses in the criminal trial.
Court heard Tuesday that Heerema was also assigned to a group of girls on that trip and was seen as the main organizer.
Heerema, 55, has pleaded not guilty to 20 criminal charges, which include sexual assault and making child pornography.
The witness testified he saw Heerema as “the most important individual in the program.”
“My perception when I was in the program, is The Young Canadians school would never operate without Phil,” he said. “If he ever decided to leave, the Young Canadians would end.
“He projected an attitude like he was the CEO of The Young Canadians.”
Court also heard during his employment with the Calgary Stampede, Heerema was on the audition panel. Those panel members decided which teens would make the cut for The Young Canadians.
The prosecution alleges Heerema used his position with the group to commit sexual offences against eight boys between 1992 and 2014.
The Calgary Stampede has said Heerema was escorted off of Stampede Park within half an hour of officials becoming aware of the allegations.
Heerema was arrested and charged in June 2015.
Cross-examination is anticipated to begin Wednesday.
Comments