Students finish testifying in former Christian school principal assault trial

The Crown has concluded calling witnesses in the trial of former Saskatoon Christian school principal Duff Arthur Friesen, who faces five counts of assault. Five former students testified about their experiences with physical and psychological abuse. One witness, now an adult, stated that being hit with a paddle by Friesen left them hurting for the rest of the day and affected them psychologically afterward.

Multiple other complainants testified to being summoned to Friesen's office, being told they were being punished, and being forced to bend over with their hands on a chair before receiving three strikes with a paddle. Two former students revealed that the school sold paddles to parents and that Friesen even offered to coach parents on how to administer paddlings.

One victim described the paddles as roughly 12 inches long and six inches wide, while another said they endured so many beatings that Friesen appeared to enjoy it. Some former students resorted to using period pads on days they anticipated being paddled to mitigate the pain. Friesen is charged with paddling five students between 1997 and 2007 at Christian Centre Academy, which was later renamed Legacy Christian Academy and is now called Valour Academy.

He was previously convicted of one count of assault with a weapon and acquitted of the remaining three counts, receiving a six-month conditional sentence. The trial will resume next week for the defense's turn.