Former Christian Centre Academy principal has sentencing reserved

A judge has reserved his sentencing decision 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.

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Submissions were made at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench on Thursday, with the Crown seeking an 18-month conditional sentence, while the defence asked for a six- to nine-month conditional sentence.

Justice Daryl Labach is set to make his decision on Jan. 7.

In her victim impact statement, former Christian Centre Academy student Robynne Randall said the assaults had a “profound” and “lifelong impact” on her life.

“I lived with a constant fear that I could be beaten or physically assaulted at any given time,” she told the court.

Randall said she grew up in a school and church environment where corporal punishment was normalized.

“During the incident when [Friesen] struck me with a paddle, I felt extreme physical pain and intense shame,” she said.

“It reinforced the message that I was not good enough, not smart enough, and not trying hard enough. Immediately after, I felt humiliated, helpless, and ashamed.”

Now 37, Randall said she is only starting to believe she is a “smart” and “capable” woman.

Randall said she came forward to testify “not only for myself, but for all of those who have experienced similar violence.”

Former students testified at Friesen’s two-week trial that he had struck them 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, which 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 that occurred during his time at the school between 2003 and 2004.

Friesen is one of several former staff members at the Christian school who were charged after a number of former students came forward with allegations of abuse.

In November 2025, the school’s former director John Olubobokun was handed an 18-month conditional sentence for paddling students at the school. He was found guilty of nine counts of assault with a weapon.

In January 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.