Former junior hockey coach Graham James jailed on sexual assault charges-NHL News
A sexual assault case involving a junior ice hockey coach, Graham James, has come to its conclusion following conviction of the alleged official on Tuesday, March 20, 2012.
James, who had pleaded guilty for two separate counts of sexual assault, was sentenced by the local court to imprisonment for two years.
James was accused of sexual attacks on the National Hockey League (NHL) players, Theo Fleury and Fleury's cousin, Todd Hol, in 1980s and 1990s.
He was sentenced in Winnipeg courtroom and Judge, Catherine Carlson, said that it was impossible for any punishment to give back what the official had taken away from the two players.
She said both players should be tremendously respected.
The judge added:
"What happened to Mr. Fleury and Mr. Holt is every child's worst nightmare."
The conviction has come after the coach entered into the guilty plea in both counts in December 2011.
Both the victims were not present in the courtroom at the time of the sentencing but they later said during a news conference that they did not believe if the coach will ever be rehabilitated.
They said that they were sure that James will be committing the same act again.
It is for the second time that James has been convicted in a sexual assault case. He was sentenced to three and half years in prison in 1997 after pleading guilty to another sexual assault against the former NHL player, Sheldon Kennedy.
He was released after serving 18 months of his total sentence in 2000, and again is facing jail for another two years on the same charge. The prosecution had sought six years of imprisonment for him but it came lower down to the two-year period.
Meanwhile, Fleury and Holt released a statement on Fleury’s website. It read:
"This sentence today is nothing short of a national travesty because we know that childhood sexual abuse has reached epidemic proportions in our country. Graham James once again perpetrated his crime and spread his sickness right through the courts of Canada.
He conned the judge with his 'poor me' and 'I regret' statements."
According to some observers, the accused who has been convicted twice for the same charge and for more than one count should be put on a regular monitoring programme.
They believe that a system should be introduced to avoid exploitation of young players at the hands of officials.
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