The former director of a private Christian school in Saskatoon received an additional conditional sentence Thursday, the latest update in a string of assault trials from incidents taking place at the school dating back over 20 years.
John Olubobokun will serve an additional five months in the community for assaults at former Christian Centre Academy dating back to 2003 through 2007.
The actual length of this new sentence is 23 months, but it is to be served concurrently with the previous 18-month sentence he received two weeks ago for a separate assault trial.
As part of his sentence, Olubobokun will have to take anger management courses, serve 50 community service hours and cannot have any contact with victims.
The school has since changed its name twice, once to Legacy Christian Academy and is now known as Valour Academy.
Former students shared victim impact statements with the court before sentencing arguments, detailing how being struck by Olubobokun with a wooden paddle as a form of discipline affected their development and relationships with authority figures.
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Following the sentencing, former student Caitlin Erickson shared that she’s happy to receive validation once again from the courts.
“We feel we should have got more, he should be behind bars,” Erickson said. “But the sentence is there and the acknowledgement’s there.”
The sentence is what the Crown had asked for, giving reason that the victims were minors at the time of the offences and that a sentence is necessary for deterrence.
The defence was seeking conditional discharge instead, saying the students’ parents provided consent for physical discipline and that Olubobokun was only doing what he was being told.
“I didn’t make the rules and I was told what to do,” Olubobokun told reporters outside the provincial courthouse.
“I had a boss who hired me and who fired me. So I do accept responsibility for my part.”
Before Judge Doug Agnew’s decision, Olubobokun apologized to the victims in court, saying he is “deeply sorry” to see the impacts of his actions and asks God for forgiveness.
Defence lawyer Ron Piché says this is not the end and that an appeal of Olubobokun’s previous sentence is warranted.
“We felt the imposition of the conditional sentence maybe overly harsh, so we’re reviewing that as well,” Piché said.
Students of the Christian academy say they are not done either, and will be at the sentencing of former principal Duff Arthur Friesen on Dec. 18.
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