A former high school football coach, who disgraced himself, said sorry during a sentencing hearing for causing grief and shame to the nine students he sexually assaulted.
The Crown prosecutor argues that Kelsey McKay carried out a decade-long campaign of grooming and assaults on teenage boys, and a suitable sentence is 25 years in prison.
At the end of a two-day sentencing hearing in Winnipeg provincial court, McKay made a brief statement on Wednesday.
In a courtroom with some of his victims and their families, McKay apologized and mentioned that he is using his imprisonment as an opportunity to learn more about himself.
He stated, “The responsibility lies with me entirely.”
McKay admitted guilt to nine counts of sexual assault and two counts of luring last July, based on charges of dozens of sexual offences from the year before.
The Crown seeks a sentence of 25 years considering the psychological and emotional harm inflicted on the former players.
Prosecutor Katie Dojack told the court, “The offending was unrelenting. This was not a one-time error in judgment.”
Dojack mentioned, “(McKay) engaged in a sophisticated campaign of grooming… His offending was insidious, devious, and highly egregious.”
McKay’s lawyers argued that the Crown’s request is excessive and suggested 13 years and three months.
Co-counsel Lisa LaBossiere stated, “This (13 years) is not an insignificant number. It’s a meaningful sentence.”
The assaults took place in the 2000s while McKay was coaching football at two Winnipeg high schools. The victims were aged between 13 to 18.
The court heard that McKay was seen as a father figure to the boys, and that many struggled and did not have a positive relationship with adults at home.
Dojack mentioned that the football coach used his position of trust and authority to groom the boys. He also supplied them with alcohol and showed them pornography to reduce their inhibitions.
One victim mentioned in court that he deals with thoughts of suicide and drug and alcohol abuse.
“I tried to pretend I was OK. Numbed myself by partying,” the man said from a victim impact statement on Tuesday.
The man admitted that he kept the abuse a secret for 15 years before going to the police in order to begin his “healing journey.”
He also mentioned that he continues to take medications daily for mental health issues and has trust issues which led to his divorce.
The man claimed that McKay groomed him for six years, “just for 15 minutes of a fantasy that caused me a lifetime of trauma.”
Court also heard that one of the victims died by suicide after the charges became public.
The man’s sister mentioned that she’s been numb since her brother’s death.
“We’ll never get to see how far his talents could have taken him,” she said from a victim impact statement.
A compilation of video statements given to police by the man prior to his suicide were played in court. In the video, he tells police parts of his life were destroyed because of the abuse.
McKay is Métis and comes from what he described as a stable home.
A statement of facts that everyone agreed on said that McKay faced racism in his youth and was abused as a child outside of his home.
He does not have any previous criminal record, substance abuse history, or mental health issues.
The judge did not make a decision and will do so at a later date.
