Egland scores Teddy Bear Toss goal but Pats lose in OT
6h ago
Over 3,000 stuffed animals were tossed onto the ice.
The former athletic director of an independent Saskatoon school was handed a two-year sentence on Thursday.
Aaron Travis Benneweis served as the athletic director of Legacy Christian Academy from 2008 to 2012. In October he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor, which occurred while he was a staff member there.
Benneweis was sentenced to two years less a day, for a total of 708 days after credit for the time he had already spent in custody. That term will be followed by three years of probation, including counselling as directed by the courts.
Jennifer Beaudry, a former student at the school, has spoken publicly about her experience as a victim after successfully petitioning the court to lift the automatic publication ban on the identities of victims of sexual crimes.
At the first part of Benneweis’ sentencing earlier this month, Beaudry read a victim impact statement saying his abuse “completely disfigured” her view of herself.
After that hearing, she said she wasn’t convinced by the apology Benneweis issued in the courtroom.
Benneweis served as athletic director at Saskatoon’s Legacy Christian Academy, which shares a building with the affiliated Mile Two Church. (650 CKOM file photo)
“The attitude is very twisted,” she said. “He feels bad, but for the wrong reasons.”
A number of other former students at Legacy Christian Academy have come forward with serious allegations.
Those include criminal complaints filed by more than a dozen students.
Three other former staff members are currently facing charges, and those cases remain before the courts.
Meanwhile, a $25-million lawsuit has been filed by a number of former students seeking damages from the school, its affiliated church and a number of its former employees.
In the wake of the allegations, the Government of Saskatchewan took a number of steps to increase oversight at independent schools around the province.
–with files from 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff and Will Mandzuk