By Lisa Schick

Graham James gets 2 more years for sexual assaults

Jun 19, 2015 | 5:05 PM

Graham James will serve more time after he pleaded guilty to repeated sexual assaults on a former Swift Current Broncos player, who described the sex offender as his “tormentor “and “demon”.

James has been sentenced to two years. He appeared via closed-circuit TV and entered the guilty plea in a Swift Current courtroom Friday morning.

The victim is in court with his family. He is also supported by Todd Holt and Sheldon Kennedy, for whom James was already convicted of abusing. The judge issued a publication ban on details that might identify the more recent complainant.

Charges were laid last month after the former player came forward. This is the third time James has faced sex charges involving players he coached.

A timeline of Graham James’ legal history

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James served 3 1/2 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty in 1997 to sex offences against Sheldon Kennedy and two others. Kennedy played for the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League at the time of the assaults and went on to play in the NHL.

James sought and received a pardon for those offences in 2007, but he was back in court a few years later when Holt and his cousin, former Calgary Flames star Theo Fleury, came forward with a new set of allegations.

James pleaded guilty and was initially sentenced to two years in 2012. An Appeal Court increased the sentence to five years, and although he has been eligible for full parole, he has never made an application.

The third set of charges comes after an investigation was launched by RCMP after receiving a complaint in September 2013. James waived a preliminary hearing and elected to be tried in Court of Queen’s Bench by judge alone.

James coached the Swift Current Broncos in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

With files from Canadian Press.

reginanews@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @CJMENews

by Lisa Schick

Graham James gets 2 more years for sexual assaults

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