Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Global News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
A jury has found former Saskatoon Christian school principal Duff Arthur Friesen guilty on three counts of assault with a weapon involving former students and not guilty on two others.
asserted
Friesen → find → others
The jury found the offences in the three counts occurred between September 1997 and June 2007 and that Friesen intentionally applied force with a weapon to the victims without their consent.
asserted
Friesen → find → consent
Defence lawyer Daniel Mol told jurors Thursday it would be “unsafe” to convict his client based on the accounts of the five witnesses, arguing some memories may have been influenced by people outside the case, including through a separate class-action lawsuit launched by former students against the school.
uncertain
memories → tell → school
Judge Daryl Labach reviewed the evidence and the students’ testimony with jurors before they began deliberations.
asserted
they → review → deliberations
The five former students testified about the physical and emotional toll of being struck with a paddle by Friesen at what was then known as Christian Centre Academy, now known as Valour Academy.
asserted
what → testify → Academy
Labach noted the school’s policy of physically punishing students and heard testimony that the paddles used for discipline were handmade by a member of the church.
asserted
paddles → note → church
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He noted testimony that students were paddled for missing punctuation or misspelling words in their schoolwork.
asserted
students → get → schoolwork
Labach also relayed testimony from a former student who said he did not view spanking by his parents as abusive, but considered Friesen’s actions abusive because of the severity of the blows.
asserted
actions → relay → blows
Several past coworkers of Friesen testified in support of Friesen, including former administrative assistant Louis Brunelle.
asserted
coworkers → testify → Brunelle
Brunelle testified the school’s discipline policy included three swats with a paddle.
asserted
policy → testify → paddle
He identified himself in a 1997 Maclean’s magazine article entered as evidence, in which he was photographed holding a paddle that victims testified was likely used on them.
asserted
victims → identify → them
Brunelle also testified that he is named as a defendant in a lawsuit for systemic abuse involving the school and the associated church, Christian Centre Ministries, now known as Mile Two.
asserted
he → testify → Mile
The 2022 lawsuit is continuing this year after the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal overturned an abuse-of-process ruling by the Court of King’s Bench in Saskatoon.
asserted
Court → continue → Saskatoon
Friesen has now been convicted of four counts of assaulting students with a weapon during his time at the school, including one count from another trial less than a year ago.
asserted
Friesen → convict → trial
In that case, Friesen received a six-month conditional sentence to be served in the community.
asserted
Friesen → receive → community
The Aporia
