Former Christian school admin Ken Schultz facing new criminal charges

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A former director and vice-principal of a Saskatoon Christian school is facing more criminal charges on top of the charges laid one year ago.

Ken Schultz, now 75, has been charged with sexual assault, invitation to touching, and assault with a weapon. The new charges were laid as a result of an investigation by members of the Saskatoon city police interpersonal violence section, police said in a news release.

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According to police, a report was filed in June “regarding allegations of sexual assault and assault occurring historically. The victim and accused were known to one another through their affiliation with the Saskatoon faith-based institution.”

Schultz was previously employed at what is now known as Valour Academy. Prior to the 2024-25 school year, the school was named Legacy Christian Academy; before that, when Schultz was there, it was known as Christian Centre Academy.

Schultz turned himself in to Saskatoon police on Wednesday.

Last year, he was charged with sexual assault and assault with a weapon after an investigation into allegations made in 2022 of historical sexual assault and assault.

He pleaded not guilty to those charges. At the time, Schultz’s lawyer said in a prepared statement that Schultz “categorically and unequivocally” denies the charges.

Former students have filed a $25-million class action lawsuit alleging the school and its parent church perpetrated and allowed the spanking of students, fondling of minors by church staff, and other physical, psychological and sexual abuses.

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Lead plaintiffs — former students Caitlin Erickson and Coy Nolin — initially filed the statement of claim.

Around two dozen defendants have been named in the civil suit, including Schultz. The allegations have not been tested in court.

Several former school staff members are facing or have faced criminal charges: former director John Olubobokun, former principal Duff Friesen, former Christian Centre Academy athletics director Aaron Benneweis, and, most recently, physical education teacher Terra MacEwan.

Benneweis, a former gym teacher and track and field coach, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a student between 2008 and 2012, when she was between 13 and 16 years old.

Olubobokun and Friesen have pleaded not guilty.

MacEwan, 44, was charged this week with assault with a weapon. According to Saskatoon police, an investigation started in June after a report of an assault in May.

According to multiple reports, the assault victim was a seven-year-old Grade 2 student in the 2023-24 school year who has autism. According to the reports, the seven-year-old boy told his mother he was hit on the head with a baton by a teacher for not listening during class.

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MacEwan turned herself in to police this week.

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