Jurors have begun deliberating in the assault trial for the former principal of a private Saskatoon Christian school. Duff Friesen, 68, is charged with five counts of assault with a weapon between 1997 and 2007, when he worked at what was then called Christian Centre Academy. The school later rebranded as Legacy Christian Academy and more recently became Valour Academy. Five former students testified in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench that Friesen hit them on the buttocks with a wooden paddle. Defence witness and former school administrator Lou Brunelle testified that paddling was a form of discipline under school policy, which he said parents signed. During his roughly three-hour jury instruction Friday, Justice Daryl Labach told the jury, made up of nine men and three women, it must consider only the evidence heard in court and remain impartial, setting aside unconscious bias. Labach also reviewed some of the evidence, including testimony that the church and school were interconnected and that the school used an unconventional education system in which students learned from work booklets and marked their own work. Some teachers did not have education degrees, the jury heard. He pointed to testimony that the school had levels of discipline that included paddling, with larger paddles used on older students. Labach also noted evidence that a church member handcrafted the paddles, which were sold at the church, and that students could be expelled for refusing to be paddled. Labach told the jury that, to find Friesen guilty, the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intentionally applied force, the student did not consent, Friesen knew the student did not consent and a weapon was used. He noted that even if a student submitted to being paddled, it did not necessarily mean they consented. Consent must be given without the influence of threats, fear, force or abuse of authority, he said. Labach also explained that a weapon is anything used to kill, injure or intimidate someone. The jury began deliberations around 2:45 p.m. CST Friday.
