A Saskatoon jury has found a former school principal guilty of one count of assault with a weapon, and not guilty on the other three counts. Duff Friesen is accused of hitting students with a wooden paddle in 2003-2004, while working at Christian Centre Academy — a school that was later renamed Legacy Christian Academy and is now known as Valour Academy. A publication ban is in place on all evidence in the trial to protect the integrity of his second jury trial in September — where he is facing seven more charges of assault with a weapon. The 12-person jury spent more than five hours deliberating on Wednesday and delivered the verdict at around 6 p.m. Before the deliberations, Justice Natasha Crooks told the members of the jury that they are the sole judges of the facts. Crooks told the jury to disregard any outside influence and only consider the evidence they heard over the past seven days. “Because this is a criminal trial, you must be unanimous in whatever verdict you see fit,” Crooks told the jury. Friesen is set to be sentenced later this summer.
