The second trial for a former principal of a private Christian school began at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday. Duff Friesen, 68, is accused of hitting five students with a wooden paddle between 1997 and 2007 during his time at the Christian Centre Academy – as it was named at the time. The school, operated by Mile Two Church, was later renamed Legacy Christian Academy and, most recently, Valour Academy. In 2021 and 2022, former students went to police alleging they had been physically abused by staff. Friesen was working as principal of Prince Albert’s Regent Academy when he turned himself in to Saskatoon police on June 15, 2023. He faced nine charges of assault with a weapon. He stood trial on four of those charges last May, where he was found guilty on one count and not guilty on the other three. He received a six-month sentence to be served in the community last December. Friesen now stands trial on the remaining five charges of assault with a weapon. He has pleaded not guilty to each charge. After jury selection, Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo called her first witness, former student Coy Nolin. Two weeks have been set aside for the jury trial before Justice Daryl Labach.
