Coy Nolin and his mother say they had no idea the four people in their living room were about to perform a violent exorcism to exorcise Coy’s “gay demons.”
Coy says that three days earlier, in an office at Christian Center Academy in Saskatoon, the school’s principal questioned him for several hours after informants told the principal that Coy was homosexual. Who, who was 16 at the time, says the director called him “evil” and an “abomination.”
Who was removed and told they would try to “cure” him.
“He told me I would have to take him as a man,” Coy said.
Coy and his mother, Carilyn, say they agreed to the home visit in May 2004, assuming they would discuss the suspension.
But almost as soon as they entered the house, the four ministers from the school and the neighboring Saskatoon Christian Center church laid hands on Coy. They began to shout, grunt, and make 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 then grabbed his large wooden paddle, bent Coy over his lap and slapped him hard enough to leave him bruised and limping.
“It was one of the worst days of my life. Even now, just thinking about it makes me numb,” Coy said.
“It was abuse. It was a hate crime.”
Coy Nolin says he’s still scarred by the abuse he suffered while attending Saskatoon Christian Center Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, but he’s now proud of his identity and finding ways to heal. (Travis Redaway/CBC)
CBC News has learned that Coy and 17 other former students have filed criminal abuse complaints. After a 12-month investigation, Saskatoon police turned the file over to Kral prosecutors in April to consider possible charges, according to police emails to students. It is not clear when the Crown will make a decision.
The complaints included frequent rowing, many of which allegedly occurred after the Supreme Court of Canada outlawed corporal punishment by educators in early 2004.
There are also allegations of coercion, traumatizing rituals and isolation.
Many of the former students – and some of their parents – have agreed to tell their stories publicly for the first time to CBC News. They shared diaries, police statements and other documentation.
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 struggling.
“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 forward to police.
Caitlin Erickson was the first of 18 former students from Saskatoon’s Christian Center Academy, now Legacy Christian Academy, to go to police. She says the degree of control exercised by school and church officials is cult-like. (Travis Redaway/CBC)
Officials from neighboring Legacy Christian Academy — the name was changed from Christian Center Academy (CCA) in 2013 — initially agreed to an interview and said they would answer any questions. The next day, they sent a written statement via email and declined to answer further questions.
“We are saddened to learn of former students who believe they were abused during their time at CCA. We encourage and support any former student who feels this way to report them to the police so that these matters can be investigated and dealt with properly and legally,” the statement said.
Many of the alleged incidents involved administrators 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 requests for an interview.
Erickson and other students say they are skeptical. They say some of the same people still work at the school and church and that no effort has been made to apologize or make amends.
“They just changed the name. It’s just rebranding,” Erickson said.
The Manual Describes “Biblical Discipline”
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 tuition and participate in fundraising. It has also received funding from the Government of Saskatchewan 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 suspended 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 former principal and school principal now teach at other Christian schools in Saskatchewan.
“Oh my God, my stomach is turning. How could this happen?” said University of Regina professor emeritus Ailsa Watkinson, who was involved in the 2004 Supreme Court case to ban corporal punishment in schools.
“Religion was used for torture, for discrimination. This is cruel. This is torture. Anyone with common sense knows that.”
CBC News has obtained an 85-page, eight-lesson handbook called The Children’s Training Workshop written by the current pastor’s father. Pupils say that during their time at the school it was sold in the gift shop alongside bibles and a selection of handmade wooden oars 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 “biblical discipline.”
It says “godless” professors, researchers and psychologists who oppose corporal punishment are “influenced by the devil” and should be ignored.
“Sometimes spanking will leave scars on the child. If any liberal hears this, they will immediately accuse us of advocating child abuse,” the handbook says.
It gives detailed instructions on the types of offenses that require rowing, such as riding a bicycle while ‘prohibited’.
“Get him to bend over and push the paddle hard. Do not allow any wiggling around or jumping around. Don’t allow any pre-disciplinary whining and hiccups. Do not let his cries and pleas lessen the severity of the punishment,” the manual says.
For parents, it states that fathers are the head of the household and must ensure that discipline is unemotional and consistent. He cautions against the use of verbal discipline and says that “mothers should especially guard against it.”
It is unclear whether any of the manual remains in use. This student handbook does not mention corporal punishment in the “forms of discipline” section.
‘I was so scared’: former student
Sean Kottelmach, who attended the school from 1996 to 2008, said he had a hard time coping 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 solitary confinement-like punishment 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 all day, then leave 15 minutes after his classmates had left. He said this went on for two weeks.
He said he also rowed many times. Kotelmach said he and others would “pad” their behinds with up to nine pairs of underwear to soften the blow. If discovered, the student will be forced to remove their underwear and the punishment will increase.
“Every part of me wanted to go to the police and just take 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.”
Shawn Kottelmach says Christian Center Academy staff used 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, forbidden to speak to anyone. (Travis Redaway/CBC)
Later in life, medical tests would reveal Kotelmach’s dyslexia. He is now the 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 us all’: law professor
The former students say many of these incidents, including the exorcism and rowing of Coy Nolin, happened after the 2004 Supreme Court ruling.
In its ruling, the court limited corporal punishment to parents, and only in narrow circumstances. It must be proportional, can only be done on children between the ages of two and 12, and no tools are allowed.
It prohibits all other employees from doing so and specifically mentions teachers and school officials.
Queen’s University law professor Lisa Kelly said any teacher who scolded a student after January 30, 2004 was clearly committing an assault.
“This applies to any school, public or private. Criminal law applies to all of us. It’s crystal clear,” Kelly said.
Kelly said any corporal punishment before 2004 could also be a problem for police and prosecutors. She said slapping, scratching or tying up a child hard enough to leave scars has long been considered excessive force by judges.
Caitlin Erickson shared a story about her and…
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