Former teacher at Legacy Christian Academy set for sentencing hearing

Aaron Travis Benneweis, a former teacher at Legacy Christian Academy, could become the first staff member to be sentenced for his role in the incidents that happened at the school.

He is to appear in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Thursday at 2 p.m.

In October, Benneweis pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor, becoming the first former staff member from the school to plead guilty.

He served as the school’s athletics director from 2008 to 2012.

Jennifer Beaudry filed the complaints against her former teacher and was one of 18 former students who filed criminal abuse complaints against the school.

In October, Beaudry said she will be at the sentencing to read her victim impact statement.

“I have elected to read that out loud in court, and there will be many others there in support as well,” she explained.

“This is a huge step in the closure that I have been waiting for over a decade now. It took me a long time to process what even happened many years after I got out of (school), and it took me many steps to get where we are. I have cherished the process to get here in all its ugly phases and all the exciting and validating times,” she added.

“The word ‘guilty’ attached to it now, coming from him, is something I was never sure I’d get. It’s going to take quite a while to get used to that, but it’s a huge part of healing and huge part of closure.”