Former students from a Saskatoon private school at the center of a criminal investigation are publicly sharing stories of the alleged abuse they faced there.
An active investigation into Saskatoon Christian Center Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, is now in the hands of a Crown prosecutor, according to the Saskatoon Police Service.
Coy Nolin attended school from grade 5 to grade 11, when she says teachers began questioning her classmates about her sexual orientation.
“It was almost like an inquisition like, ‘Is Coy gay?’ or ‘What kind of magazines does he have, what kind of movies does he watch?’ stuff like that,” Nolin said.
Coy Nolin says he left Saskatoon Christian Center Academy after staff subjected him to a “gay exorcism”. (Pat McKay/CTV News)Nolin says that when he came out to his teachers that he was gay, long before he was ready to come out, they performed a “gay exorcism” at his home.
“They were starting to speak in tongues, which is like, I don’t know, babbling and grunting,” Nolin said.
“They did that and said ‘We cast the homosexual demons out of you,’ and they did this for at least an hour and then after that, it was time to beat the crap out of you.”
Nolin says school staff then beat him up.
It’s just one of stories of physical, mental and emotional abuse that former students allege regularly occurred at the school, which adjoins Mile Two Church.
In a statement, the school and church say current staff and leadership are hearing some of the stories for the first time.
“Our church and school have experienced significant leadership and personnel changes in the past seven years,” the statement says.
“The individuals accused of these actions are no longer here or affiliated with us in any way. We have cooperated and will cooperate fully with any official or authority investigating their actions.”
The church said it has “offered numerous public and private apologies” over the past seven years as the allegations surfaced.
Caitlin Erickson attended the school from kindergarten through 12th grade graduation and says Saskatoon police took statements from several former students as part of their investigation.
“He was very controlling and abusive,” she said of the school.
Caitlin Erickson stands outside a Saskatoon Christian school where she says she and others have suffered physical and emotional abuse. (Pat McKay/CTV News)Erickson played on the volleyball team with sisters Stefanie and Christina Hutchinson, and once says the entire team was paddled after laughing during a church service that featured a special guest speaker.
“That following Monday at school they brought the whole volleyball team,” Erickson said.
“The director at the time sat down and just looked at us and drummed his fingers on the stage looking at us, we had no idea what was going on,” said Stefanie Hutchinson.
“Apparently he was furious and started yelling at us for disrupting us, disrespecting the man of God and making our pastor look terrible, and ‘This doesn’t reflect well on the church.'”
“He lined all of us up and bodily disciplined all of us while we could hear them disciplining each other, and it was very traumatic,” Erickson said. “Our coach stood there and watched everything.”
Erickson said the Saskatoon Police Service interviewed multiple students as part of its investigation.
A Canadian Supreme Court decision in 2004 effectively banned corporal punishment in schools.
Christina Hutchinson says that when she was eight years old, her teacher called her to the front of the class to pray.
“I got so shy and paralyzed with fear that I refused and said no, and then she came over and grabbed me and sat me on her lap, and she hugged me real tight, rocking me and speaking in tongues,” she said. .
Caitlin Erickson says members of the Christian Center Academy volleyball team were paddled out by school staff. (Courtesy Caitlyn Erickson)“That was for a week and I just remember crying and crying and wondering ‘Why can’t I go out and play with my friends during break? Why am I locked in with this teacher and she won’t let me go?’ “
Hutchinson says she later found out it was because the teacher was worried she was possessed by a demon.
“The thing about a place like (that) is there was always an undercurrent of fear,” he said.
“We were terrified of doing something wrong, of being flogged for doing something wrong, of going to hell, of not being good enough and spiritual enough to go to heaven.”
In a statement, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education said it became aware of the police investigation in June.
“We understand, based on the accounts contained in the letter, that these allegations relate to incidents that took place in the 2000s.”
The ministry said it started funding qualified independent schools (QIS) in 2012.
Caitlin Erickson and her sisters are shown in an undated photo from Saskatoon Christian Center Academy. (Caitlin Erikson)“Since (Legacy Christian Academy) started receiving provincial funding, no complaints have been registered with the ministry against LCA and no irregularities have been found during routine inspections.”
The ministry said it takes “all allegations or complaints seriously” and any QIS is closely monitored with teachers “supervised a minimum of three times per school year, as well as being required to submit course outlines, individual lessons and annual plans”.
The ministry said that any accusations it learns of that are of a criminal nature will be forwarded to the appropriate legal authorities.
The Saskatchewan NDP opposition say they want funding for the school stopped in light of the allegations.
“We must also immediately conduct an investigation into how the minister and the Ministry of Education handled these allegations, and we are also calling for funding for this school to be frozen while that investigation is carried out,” said Matt Love, education critic for the NDP. . .
Alumni of the school say they are speaking out now so others don’t have to go through what they went through.
“We always impressed people a lot. When the politicians came to see us sing and perform, we were like the best students in the world, so the school looked great,” said Stefanie Hutchinson.
“It’s not like they’re showing these lollipops and saying, ‘This is how we keep these kids in check,'” he said.
“We put on a show because we were terrified.”