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Sentencing begins on Friday for the former principal of Christian Centre Academy, who struck students with a wooden paddle during his tenure at the school in the early 2000s.
On Sept. 18, a jury found Duff Arthur Friesen guilty on three of five counts of assault. Sentencing submissions are expected to be heard at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench on Friday afternoon, with Justice Daryl Labach presiding.
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Former students testified at Friesen’s two-week trial, saying they had been struck by Friesen with a wooden paddle as a form of what the court heard described as “scriptural discipline,” a practice tied to a passage in the Bible.
Christian Centre Academy was also formerly known as Legacy Christian Academy, and has since been renamed Valour Academy. Its affiliated church, Mile Two Church, has been renamed Encounter Church.
Following a separate trial in December 2025, Friesen was given a six-month conditional sentence for assaulting a former student with a wooden paddle.
During that trial, he was found guilty on one of four charges of assault with a weapon for an incident during his time at the school between 2003 and 2004.
Friesen is one of several former staff members at the Christian school to face criminal charges after several former students came forward with abuse allegations.
In November, John Olubobokun, the school’s former director, was handed an 18-month conditional sentence for padding students at the school. He was found guilty of nine counts of assault with a weapon.
In January of 2024, Aaron Travis Benneweis, the school’s former athletic director, was given a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Ken Schultz, a former director and vice-principal at Christian Centre Academy, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and assault with a weapon. His case remains before the courts.
