Coy says that three days earlier, in an office at Saskatoon Christian Center Academy, the school’s principal had questioned him for several hours after informants told the principal Coy was gay. Coy, who was 16 at the time, says the director called him “evil” and “disgusting”. Coy was suspended and said they would try to “heal” him. “He told me I should take it like a man,” Coy said. Coy and his mother, Carilyn, say they agreed to the May 2004 home visit on the assumption they would discuss probation. But almost immediately after entering the house, the four employees of the school and the nearby Saskatoon Christian Center church laid hands on Coy. They began shouting, growling, and making other unintelligible sounds known as “speaking in tongues.” “I was no longer in control. I was pushed aside,” Carilyn said. After more than an hour, with Carilyn crying in the corner of the room, they stopped. Coy says the director grabbed his large wooden paddle, bent Coy in his arms and hit him hard enough to leave him bruised and limp. “That was one of the worst days of my life. Even now, just thinking about it, I get numb,” Coy said. “This was abuse. This was a hate crime.” Coy Nolin says he’s still hurt by the abuse he suffered while attending Saskatoon Christian Center Academy, now Legacy Christian Academy, but now he’s proud of his identity and finding ways to heal. (Travis Reddaway/CBC) CBC News has learned that Coy and 17 other former students have filed criminal abuse allegations. After a 12-month investigation, Saskatoon police turned the file over to Crown prosecutors in April to consider possible charges, according to police emails to students. It is unclear when the Crown will decide. The complaints include frequent rowing, many of which reportedly occurred after the Supreme Court of Canada outlawed corporal punishment by teachers in early 2004. There are also allegations of coercion, traumatic rituals and solitary confinement. Many of the former students – and some of their parents – agreed to tell their stories publicly for the first time to CBC News. Diaries, police statements and other documents were shared. They say the physical, financial, social and emotional control by school and church officials was absolute and that it took years for them to regain their dignity and sanity. Some say they are still fighting. “It took a long time for people to talk. I mean, it was a cult. It was basically a cult,” said Caitlin Erickson, the first student to come to the police. Caitlin Erickson was the first of 18 former students at Saskatoon Christian Center Academy, now Legacy Christian Academy, to go to police. He says the degree of control exercised by school and church officials was akin to a cult. (Travis Reddaway/CBC) Officials at neighboring Legacy Christian Academy — the name changed from Christian Center Academy (CCA) in 2013 — initially agreed to an interview and said they would answer all questions. The next day, they sent a written statement via email and refused to answer any further questions. “We are sorry to learn of former students who feel they have been abused while at CCA. We encourage and support any former student who feels this way to file a police report so that these matters can be investigated and dealt with properly and legally,” stated in the announcement. Many of the alleged incidents involved leaders and staff at both the school and the neighboring Saskatoon Christian Centre, now known as Mile Two Church. The two institutions have long shared a building in Saskatoon’s Lawson Heights neighborhood, and the school’s current handbook notes that they are guided by Mile Two Church’s “doctrinal beliefs,” such as the inerrancy of the Bible. Mile Two Church officials declined repeated interview requests. Erickson and other students say they are skeptical. They say some of the same people are still working at the school and church and no effort has been made to apologize or make amends. “They just changed the name. It’s just a rebrand,” Erickson said.
Bible Discipline Manual Details
Christian Center Academy opened its doors to students in 1982, but did not receive provincial accreditation allowing students to enter a university or college until 1994. Like other private schools, parents pay fees and participate in fundraising. It has also been receiving Saskatchewan government funding for the past decade. Most of the former students who came forward attended between 1995 and 2010, but there is no time limit on legal complaints of this nature involving minors. Students and experts interviewed say all government subsidies and tax breaks for the church and school should be stopped until police and prosecutors deal with the complaints and the government conducts a full investigation into the school’s current practices. They agree that some key staff have left, but the school’s former principal and principal now teach at other Christian schools in Saskatchewan. “God, this makes my stomach turn. How could this happen?” said University of Regina professor emeritus Ailsa Watkinson, who was involved in the 2004 Supreme Court case banning corporal punishment in schools. “Religion used to torture, discriminate. It’s cruel. This is torture. Anyone with common sense knows that.” CBC News obtained an 85-page, eight-lesson manual called The Child Training Seminar written by the current pastor’s father. Students say that during their time at the school, they were sold in the gift shop along with books and a selection of handmade wooden paddles of various sizes. Students say it has been used by school staff and is highly recommended to parents. More than 20 pages are devoted to the benefits and practical applications of the “graphic discipline”. He states that “ungodly” professors, researchers and psychologists who opposed corporal punishment are “affected by the devil” and should be ignored. “Sometimes, hitting leaves scars on the child. If any liberal heard this, they would immediately accuse us of advocating beating,” the manual states. It provides detailed guidance on the types of offenses that warrant paddling, such as riding a bicycle while “prohibited”. “Make him bend over and apply the paddle firmly. Don’t allow him to wiggle around or jump. Don’t allow any screaming and whining before discipline. Don’t let his crying and begging lessen the severity of the punishment,” he says. the manual. For parents, he states that fathers are the head of the household and must ensure that discipline is non-emotional and consistent. He warns against the use of verbal discipline and says that “mothers should be especially careful of it.” It is unclear whether any of the manuals remain in use. The current student handbook makes no mention of corporal punishment in the “Forms of Discipline” section.
‘I was so scared’: former student
Sean Kotelmach, who attended the school from 1996 to 2008, said he struggled to keep up with the largely self-directed curriculum, which relied heavily on memorization and obedience. In his frustration, he began to answer. “They made me think I was stupid,” he said. Kotelmach said he endured a punishment similar to solitary confinement as a 13-year-old. He was forced to arrive at school 15 minutes before other students, work alone at a desk in a small windowless room for the entire day, and then leave 15 minutes after his classmates left. He said this went on for two weeks. He said he was rowed several times. Kotelmach said he and others would “stuff” their buttocks with up to nine pairs of underwear to soften the bumps. If discovered, the student would be forced to remove the underwear and the punishment would increase. “Every part of me wanted to go to the police and just pull my pants down and show them what they did to me,” Kotelmach said. “[But] I was scared. I was so scared. I was worried my parents would get in trouble for sending me to this school.” Sean Kotelmach says Christian Center Academy employees were using forms of seclusion. As a 13-year-old, he was placed in a small windowless room with only a desk for 10 consecutive school days, in which he was forbidden to speak to anyone. (Travis Reddaway/CBC) Later in life, medical tests would reveal Kotelmach’s dyslexia. He is now creative director of a local marketing and media company, but said the emotional scars remain. Kotelmach said he found the courage to file a police report last year after speaking with Erickson. “I’m tired of living with rage. I wake up in the middle of the night screaming. This is no way to live. I want it to stop. I had to do my part and say something,” Kotelmach said.
“Criminal law applies to all of us”: law professor
Former students say many of these incidents, including the exorcism and rowing of Coy Nolin, happened after the 2004 Supreme Court ruling. In the ruling, the court limited corporal punishment to parents and only under narrow circumstances. It must be proportional, can only be done on children aged two to 12, and no tools are allowed. He prohibited all other officials from doing so and specifically mentioned teachers and school employees. Queen’s University law professor Lisa Kelly said any teacher who paddled a student after January 30, 2004 was clearly committing an assault. “This applies to any school, public or private. The criminal law applies to all of us. It’s clear,” Kelly said. Kelly said any corporal punishment before 2004 could also trouble police and prosecutors. He said hitting, paddling or tying up a child hard enough to leave marks is considered excessive force by judges. Caitlin Erickson shared a story about her and…
