Notorious sex offender and former junior hockey coach Graham James pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually assaulting ex-NHLer Theo Fleury and another former player.
James entered the plea in a Winnipeg courtroom via a video link. James has been out on bail and living in Montreal for the last year.
James initially faced nine new sex charges against three players, with the incidents occurring between 1979 and 1994.
But because of a plea deal with prosecutors, James only pleaded guilty to charges involving two players, one of which includes Fleury.
James had already served a 3 1/2-year jail sentence for abusing other players, including former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy.
The latest charges came after Fleury published an autobiography, Playing with Fire, in which he detailed the sexual abuse.
But the man who initially exposed the pardon was denied his day in court, because of a deal with prosecutors that saw James plead guilty to only two charges.
Greg Gilhooly, who is now a Toronto lawyer, was a Bantam-aged goalie in Winnipeg when he became one of James's victims.
"The lawyer in me understands why the Crown did what the Crown did … the victim side of me finds this absolutely abhorrent," he said in a phone interview.
Gilhooly was among three new accusers that came forward with allegations, but prosecutors stayed the charges related to Gilhooly's case.
"For Graham to play a game and believe he's won a victory over me by not pleading guilty to my charges, I am not prepared to let Graham win that game. He cannot beat me anymore," he told The Canadian Press in an earlier interview.
The other victim's identity is protected by a court publication ban.
Following the guilty plea on Wednesday, Fleury also criticized the Canadian justice system at a press conference in Calgary.
"Graham James pled guilty years ago, and then he was granted a pardon, after he was found in Mexico and brought back to Canada on these charges," he said, reading a prepared statement.
"He was given bail . . . this is what the mighty Canadian justice system allowed a previously convicted child rapist to do," he said.
James's pardon was quietly approved in 2007, sparking outrage from victims and the public when The Canadian Press reported it last year.
The Conservative government has since revamped the pardon system, preventing those convicted of sexual offences against minors from obtaining one.
Fleury also said convicted sex offenders like James don't change.
"I believe what people show me - he showed me he was and is a rapist. There is no changing a monster like that."
In the book, Fleury told of how James recruited him at 13 to play in Winnipeg and Moose Jaw, Sask. James would abuse him while on the road with the team – attacks that included fondling or performing oral sex.
To keep him quiet, James threatened to ruin his dreams of pursuing an NHL career.
Fleury also told of how James took him and Kennedy to Disneyland and abused them in hotel rooms. James pleaded guilty to the charges involving Kennedy in 1997, but Fleury remained quiet until 2009.
Fleury and Kennedy have both become outspoken advocates for victims of sexual crimes.
But they struggled for years with drug and alcohol problems related to the assaults inflicted by James. In their adult years, Kennedy battled suicidal thoughts and Fleury said he was transformed into an angry boozer who blew millions on gambling, drugs and lap dancers.
Ex-NHLer and abuse survivor Kennedy praised Gilhooly for having the courage to step forward with new allegations.
"I think we need to know that Greg is the person who brought the pardon issue to the forefront," Kennedy said.
James will be sentenced in Winnipeg in February.
With a report from CTV's Jill Macyshon
