'Shame on you,' judge tells former Winnipeg high school football coach sentenced to 20 years for sexual abuse

WARNING | This story containsdetails of abuse.

A disgraced formerhigh school football coach was taken into custody Monday afternoon in front of a Winnipeg courtroom packed with supporters of his victims, after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing nineplayers over more than a decade.

People wiped tears from their eyesand embraced after Kelsey McKay's sentence was handed down byprovincial court Judge Raymond Wyant, whose voice was heavy with emotion as he delivered his decision.

"From the bottom of my heart, what happened to you was not your fault," Wyant said ashe addressedMcKay's victims and their supporters, including the family of a man who court heard died by suicide months after coming forward to police in 2022.

"The guilt lies squarely on the shoulders of Mr. McKay. You were children. You were guiltless. You put your faith in the handsof someone you saw as a friend, as a mentor, as a teacher, as a coach, as someone larger than life to you."

The decision comes more than six months after lawyers made sentencing arguments in McKay's case a delay the judge attributed to how much the details of the case weighed on him.

Addressing McKay directly, Wyantsaid he wanted to take the time to ensure the sentence, which was his last before retirement,wasn't clouded by the "abject anger that your violation of these kids had on me."

"You used vulnerability to your advantage in your twisted game. Shame on you, Mr. McKay shame on you," Wyant told him."Mr. McKay abused children for his owngratification. There is no excuse for whathe has done and there is no cure for the havoc he wreaked."

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Former Winnipeg high school football coach sentenced to 20 years for sexually abusing players

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Kelsey McKay, a former Winnipeg high school football coach who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing nine players has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

McKay, now 54, demonstrated a pattern of grooming his victims and often preyed on their vulnerabilities over a period of 13 years, Wyant said.Some of the offendingbehaviour happened when the victims were as young as 12 years old, the judge said.

Some of them had troubled home lives and viewed McKay as a role model or father figure, court heard.

Court also heard McKayinvited players to his home, where he at times showed them pornography, gave them alcohol, massaged them and touched their genitals. McKay also texted the playersand would sometimes drivethem to school.

Wyant noted McKay's behaviour caused rifts in some of the victims' families, and that his contact with some of the victims only ended when he was arrested in 2022.

'Tsunami effect'

Some of McKay's victims and their family memberstold courtin vivid detail earlier this year about the effects the abuse had on them and their families, includingsuicidal thoughts, addictions, post-traumatic stress, depression and "personal challenges almost too numbing to contemplate," Wyant said.

The judge, who said he's also spent time coaching youth sports, said McKay's actions had a "tsunami effect" across the community's perception of people in positions of authority over their children.

"What you did undermined every teacher, every volunteer, every coach you tainted and tarnished each and every one of them. Your type of behaviour erodes and destroys the trust that people put in teachers and coaches," Wyant said.

McKay was a prominent figure in Winnipeg's football communityand was still actively coaching and teaching when he was arrested in 2022. He was promoted to head coach at Churchill High School in 2003 before going to Vincent Massey Collegiate in 2009.

McKay pleaded guiltylast year to nine counts of sexual assault and two counts of luring.CBC News is not naming the players involved in the case because of a publication ban.

Court heard there was a suggestion in McKay's pre-sentence reports that he "might have himself been a victim of sexual assault at a younger age" a detail the judge called "sad, but not surprising."

"It may serve to be a partial explanation, but it is never itself an excuse," Wyant said. "It demonstrates graphically the pernicious effects of victimization on children, and why courts must do what they can to denounce such conduct in order to assist in breaking the cycle of violence."

Sentencing recommendations

Crown attorney Katie Dojack asked during sentencing arguments earlier this year for McKay to be sentenced to 25 years in prison, saying each of his victims had been "sentenced to a lifetime of harm and suffering."

Dojack said McKaycreated a "psychologically dangerous" environment for the high school players and had opportunities to stop his abuse at any time.

McKay's lawyers, Josh Weinstein and Lisa LaBossiere, said a sentence of just over 13 years would be more "meaningful" for McKay, given his age and the fact that he pleaded guilty.

McKay also read an apology at that sentencing hearing to the victims and their families, taking responsibility for what he did and saying he was sorry for the "hurt, grief, shame and sorrow" he caused them.

"I know this hurt and betrayal will affect them all for the rest of their lives," he said, not turning around to face the audience as he spoke.

Weinstein told the court in MarchMcKay"is not a lost cause," since the former coach hasseveral times expressed remorse about the abuse.

"This is a journey and it is not an easy, straight line," said Weinstein. "He recognizes where he is and where he needs to get to."

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through thisgovernment of Canada websiteor theEnding Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Canada'sSuicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling onthe website.
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention:Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from theCentre for Addiction and Mental Healthoutlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.