Christian school director accused of paddling gay student testifies he investigated ‘homosexuality’

A former director of a private Christian school on trial for assault charges testified he investigated “homosexuality” and “sexual activity” among students.

The former director of a private Christian school on trial for assault charges testified he investigated “homosexuality” and “sexual activity” among students at the school.

John Olubobokun, 64, is charged with nine counts of assault with a weapon stemming from allegations of physical abuse while he was a director at Christian Centre Academy about 20 years ago. The school was later known as Legacy Christian Academy and is now called Valour Academy.

Olubobokun’s trial resumed on Tuesday after a nine-month pause, with the defence calling him as its first witness.

Earlier in his trial, nine former students testified Olubobokun hit them with a wooden paddle. One said he was paddled for being gay.

During cross examination on Wednesday, Olubobokun said he began investigating homosexuality in the school after an altercation in the band room, where a student punched another student because he winked and blew a kiss at him.

Olubobokun then said he was investigating sexual activity in general, because students were making jokes with “sexual connotations.”

Olubobokun testified he was aware of “paddling” before and during his time as director, but said he did not hit students with a paddle.

When the trial began last June, former student Cody Nolin testified that he sometimes went to school wearing a second pair of underwear for protection when being hit with a paddle.

Nolin said there was one occasion where Olubobokun accused him of “stuffing his pants,” because he didn’t cry from the pain.

Olubobokun said he was not aware of students wearing two pairs of underwear in anticipation of being paddled. He also denied having any interaction with Cody Nolin, because he said Nolin was expelled before he became the school’s director.

Court heard students were not supposed to discuss their discipline with other students, because it was a “private” matter.

“That’s why it was done behind closed doors in the presence of a witness,” Olubobokun testified.

The defence called three more witnesses, including Olubobokun’s wife Simbo Olubobokun.

Simbo denied allegations that she and her husband went to a student’s home to punish him for being gay.

Lynette Weiler, a former volleyball coach at the school, was another defence witness. Weiler testified she did not see Olubobokun hit students with a paddle.

Weiler is also one of the roughly two dozen people named in a $25 million civil lawsuit against the school.

During cross examination, Crown Prosecutor Sheryl Fillo asked Weiler if she was concerned it might compromise the civil lawsuit if she admitted to witnessing paddling.

Weiler said no and continued to deny she saw paddles used to discipline students.

The Crown and defence are scheduled to make closing arguments on May 2.