Two courtrooms were packed on Wednesday with victims and families as they waited for the final sentencing of John Olubobokun. However, they will have to wait a bit longer.
In July of this year, Olubobokun, former director of Christian Centre Academy, was found guilty of nine counts of assault with a weapon. In 2003, Olubobokun used a wooden cricket bat-like paddle to correct a student. This punishment went on for four years, despite the Supreme Court ruling in 2004 to make corporal punishment illegal in schools.
Olubobokun’s lawyer, Ron Piché, argued that Olubobokun was simply following school policy.
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Victim statements were shared on Wednesday, many describing the beatings they received — beatings that have had a lifelong effect. Many were crying as speakers shared the depression, anxieties and hardships they experienced due to being assaulted at a young age.
Several speakers noted they can no longer trust men or find comfort in religion, but Caitlin Erickson says sharing her statement helped her feel like she was getting her power back.
“Because we were children and there was that power imbalance, there was never an opportunity for us to speak, so being able to give our victim impact statements, redacted as they were, was still powerful in that, you know, he was forced to listen to us in that moment,” said Erickson.
The Crown made a recommendation of two years of jail time with three years of probation. In response, the defence requested conditional discharge.
After hearing the final recommendations, Judge Lisa Watson said she will need more time to consider a proper sentence. Her decision will be delivered on Nov. 20 of this year.
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