Another former student testified to assault with a weapon at the hands of Duff Friesen, as the trial of the former Legacy Christian Academy principal continues. Sean Kotelmach took the stand on Thursday, testifying to being struck on three separate occasions during his time at the school formerly known as Christian Centre Academy with a paddle by Friesen. “It’s hard to imagine him being able to hit it any harder... two handed full force baseball swing,” Kotelmach said. The former student told the court that his experience was harmful in both a physical and mental capacity, describing it as “soul crushing.” 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 is now called Valour Academy. Kotelmach, who attended the school between 1996 and 2008 testified to being unclear about the exact reason for allegedly being paddled as a disciplinary measure. He told the court that a number of students were informed they were going to be paddled because of poor academic performance. “I was in absolute shock... I knew it was going to be in the next couple weeks.. to live with torment and anxiety as to when its going to happen. Someone not related to me is going to be beating me, to what strength?” Kotelmach said. Kotelmach went on to testify that in the days leading up to the alleged assault, he would wear as many pairs of underwear as he could, estimating nine pairs, in an attempt to soften the blow. Eventually, he alleges he was brought out of class one day and taken through the building, to the nursery, where Kotelmach says a series of paddles were kept. “Multiple paddles in different sizes for different sizes of children” Kotelmach said. He went on to say that the accused was waiting in a room with the largest sized paddle. “I walked in, Duff [Friesen] was standing there....they gave a little lecture...it usually had to do with ‘why are you being a bad kid’...they explained how many swats I was to receive, I was asked to bend over the chair,” Kotelmach said. Kotelmach testified to being struck three times with the wooden paddle by the accused, with significant force and said it resulted in what the former student described as a tremendous amount of pain. After the alleged assault, the former student testified to being in a distressed emotional state, crying and hyperventilating for around five minutes. “They sent me back to the classroom and I sat in my desk...I was able to sit but the pain still stayed” Kotelmach said. The witness went on to testify that this happened twice more during his time at the school. He described the circumstances leading up to the other alleged assaults as similar, stemming from one incident where staff thought he was cheating on assignments, and another where he used the word “frickin” that was misheard to be a curse word. “I have never received a reason, it was an accusation,” Kotelmach said. The defence then took over cross-examination, where Kotelmach was questioned regarding his understanding of the school’s disciplinary protocol, which was known to include paddling. Kotelmach testified to being aware that the school actively used paddling as a disciplinary measure. The defence then began questioning Kotelmach regarding his description of wearing nine pairs of underwear in anticipation of the paddling. After the defence presented Kotelmach with several packages of underwear, he was asked to count out nine pairs of underwear before being asked if the number was exact. The witness told the court that while nine was an estimation, he wore multiple pairs of underwear in preparation for the alleged assault. “Give or take one or two...regardless, I had to pad myself for a beating.” Kotelmach was also questioned about his description of the school in his police statement which described periods of time in school where students spent up to eight hours in church. Kotelmach insisted that this number was not an exaggeration. When the defence asked Kotelmach if he was angry about the experience he had at the school, he replied: “Yes, but I’m healing.”
