The former director of a Saskatoon private Christian school has been found guilty on nine counts of assault with a weapon.
John Olubobokun was accused of using a wooden paddle to hit students when he was the director at Christian Centre Academy for four years starting in 2003. The school was later renamed Legacy Christian Academy, then Valour Academy.
Judge Lisa Watson outlined her reasoning in a lengthy decision Monday afternoon in provincial court. Watson said the Crown proved without a reasonable doubt that Olubobokun assaulted the complainants.
She gave detailed accounts of each victim’s evidence. Former students said they were often accused of misbehaviour, called into the director’s office, told to bend over a desk or chair, and struck multiple times with a wooden paddle. Some students testified they were left bruised. One said the paddle broke while they were being struck.
Emotions ran high in the courtroom Monday. Former students and supporters let out loud sighs of relief when the guilty decisions were announced, then sobbed and held each other as they walked out of the courtroom.
“To have the justice systems say this wasn’t OK, that’s very validating and healing for everybody,” said Caitlin Erickson, a former student at the school.
“Very emotional … it’s been a very long time for us to wait to have our day in court and for justice to play out finally.”
Erickson said it’s a win for all former students of the school, not just those who testified.
Former Saskatoon Christian school director found guilty of assaulting students
The trial began in June 2024 with testimony from nine students and other Crown witnesses, then continued in March with defence witnesses.
During closing arguments, defence lawyer Ron Piché questioned why the students didn’t go to their parents or police at the time of the alleged paddlings and why there are no photographs of bruising.
He also pointed to a separate civil case, a $25-million class action lawsuit, which has been dismissed, suggesting the complainants had financial motives.
There was discussion during closing arguments about Section 43 of the Criminal Code, which reads, “Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.”
In 2004, a Supreme Court of Canada ruling narrowed the scope of the section, including by saying an object cannot be used. It defined “reasonable” force as that which would have a “transitory and trifling” impact on the child.
Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo previously argued that by virtue of the allegations, “with the implement being used,” there was no defence under Section 43.
She said it was important for the court to hear about the “unique situation” of how the school was run and interconnected with the church, and the consequences students and their entire families would face for speaking out. The school and the church are in the same building.
“These were people that were at the church almost daily — at the school, at the church, at this building, almost daily,” Fillo said during her closing argument.
A sentencing date for Olubobokun has not been set.
