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During closing arguments in Saskatoon, a defence lawyer questioned the credibility of five witnesses who testified against Duff Arthur Friesen, former principal of a private Christian school, on charges of assault with a weapon for incidents from 1997 to 2007. The lawyer argued that jurors should not rely solely on witness testimonies and pointed out inconsistencies in one testimony compared to earlier statements. Crown attorney Sheryl Fillo countered by emphasizing the need to consider each count separately and reminded the jury of specific details provided by former students, such as wearing multiple pairs of underwear for protection against paddling.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A jury is deliberating on whether former Christian Centre Academy principal Duff Friesen is guilty of assaulting students with a wooden paddle between 1997 and 2007, facing five counts of assault with a weapon. During the trial's closing arguments, defence lawyer Daniel Mol argued that the memories of five former students who testified are unreliable and contradictory, while Crown attorney Sheryl Fillo asserted that paddling constitutes assault under Canadian law. The case involves alleged incidents at Christian Centre Academy, later renamed Legacy Christian Academy and then Valour Academy, with ties to Mile Two Church (now Encounter Church).
Written for “School Principal Assault Trial Arguments” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 17305 · logged 2026-09-18
The defence lawyer for a former principal of a private Christian school in Saskatoon told jurors Thursday that the five witnesses who testified during the assault trial were neither credible nor reliable.
asserted
who → tell → trial
Duff Arthur Friesen faces five counts of assault with a weapon for incidents between 1997 and 2007 during his time as an administrator of Christian Centre Academy, where he is accused of hitting students with a wooden paddle.
asserted
he → face → paddle
During the two-week-long trial, jurors heard from five former students, sharing testimonies on how they were paddled by the former Christian-school principal, some describing the paddles they were disciplined with.
asserted
they → hear → paddles
Defence lawyer Daniel Mol told jurors Thursday that it is “unsafe” to convict his client based on the accounts of the five witnesses, saying some had their memories influenced by others not involved in the case, including that of a separate class-action lawsuit launched by former students against the school.
asserted
memories → tell → school
Earlier in the trial, Mol called into question the credibility of one witness, saying he gave testimony that differed from his 2021 statement to police.
Meanwhile, crown attorney Sheryl Fillo reminded the jury at the beginning of her closing arguments to consider each of the five counts separately, adding that an incident of paddling only had to take place once between the 20-year time span for it to be convictable.
asserted
it → call → span
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Fillo also re-visited the testimonies of the five witnesses, recounting what one former student said about wearing multiple pairs of underwear to school to prepare for the paddling.
asserted
student → get → paddling
Fillo closed her arguments by asking jurors to use common sense when analyzing evidence and making a decision.
asserted
Fillo → close → decision
Judge Daryl Labach is expected to present the jury with legal instructions Friday morning before the deliberations begin.
asserted
deliberations → expect → instructions
Last year, Friesen was found guilty of one count of assault with a weapon and not guilty of three other counts in a separate trial.
asserted
Friesen → find → trial
Friesen received a six-month conditional sentence to be served in the community.
asserted
Friesen → receive → community
Christian Centre Academy was later renamed Legacy Christian Academy and is now known as Valour Academy.
asserted
Academy → rename → Academy
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