Alleged victim disappointed as former Saskatoon gym teacher appears in court by phone
CTV
A Saskatoon woman who is unable to identify herself due to a court-ordered publication ban she's fighting to remove says she is disappointed she wasn't able to face her former gym teacher in court on Monday.
A Saskatoon woman who is unable to identify herself due to a court-ordered publication ban she's fighting to remove says she is disappointed she wasn't able to face her former gym teacher in court on Monday.
"I walked in there thinking I was going to see him," the alleged victim said. "Which I was very mentally ready for, (I'm) kind of ready for that closure."
Aaron Benneweis was the athletic director at Christian Centre Academy, now known as Legacy Christian Academy. He is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.
Benneweis is also named in a $25 million class action lawsuit filed by dozens of former students last summer for various sexual and physical abuse allegations.
His alleged victim came forward to Saskatoon police last August with a series of allegations involving incidents between 2003 and 2013.
She says Benneweis, 46, was her gym teacher when he first started to stare and smile at her when she was 13 years old. Her first kiss was with Benneweis, her gym teacher at the time, when she was 14 years old.
"It's been a decade" the complainant said outside of the courthouse. "It feels really good that the process has started, but it's a little disappointing that I didn't see him. It will happen later, I'm sure. But it feels really good that the ball has finally started rolling."
