After sentencing former minor-league hockey coach Graham James to two years in prison, Manitoba provincial court judge Catherine Carlson said, “There is no sentence this court can impose that will give back to Mr. Holt and Mr. Fleury that which was taken by Mr. James.” Although she may be right, isn’t it worth a shot?
Retired NHLer Theo Fleury and his cousin Todd Holt fell victim to hundreds of acts of sexual abuse by James, his actions robbing two trusting teenagers (as they then were) of their youth and their innocence. It almost goes without saying that the assault goes well beyond the physical aspect, and deep into the emotional and mental ones; Fleury has battled alcoholism his entire life, which eventually forced him out of the NHL.
James was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for a similar case of sexual abuse, again against two young hockey-playing boys, including former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy. The assaults ran into the hundreds, but the punishment was brief: of the 42 months he was sentenced to, James served only 18 of them.
This time however, for the countless cases of serial abuse, he was sentenced to just two years.
In other words, his crimes are apparently worth no more than a slap on the wrist.
To be fair to judge Carlson, she seems to appreciate the gravity of James’ crimes. “Mr. James could essentially do what he wanted to do to [his victims], and could rely on their compliance and silence, because he controlled whether they would get the chance at what they really wanted,” she said. “He could make or break them. He told them that.” If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, not much can. But, you can’t blame the judge for the paltry sentence; it’s how the Canadian justice system works, and perhaps that’s the real crime here. After the first six months of his sentence, he’s eligible for passes and day parole, and full parole after eight months.
Given that two of his victims went on to become NHL stars, this case has become one of the most notorious and most publicized sexual abuse cases in Canadian history. If that’s not enough for Canadian courts to take this case seriously, it’s hard to imagine what it would take. Clearly, they didn’t and handed out a laughable sentence.
Holt called the punishment a “national travesty” upon hearing the verdict, and in many ways it is. This is bigger than Fleury and Holt, and easily transcends the hockey world.
“This is not about me anymore,” Fleury, the former Calgary Flame star, said just hours after the verdict came in. “This is about doing our utmost to eliminate the biggest epidemic we have on the planet . . . I have kids. What’s important is that not one more kid has to go through what I did. What Sheldon [Kennedy] did. What Todd [Holt] did.”
Does a two-year sentence accomplish that? Not even close.
James’s own lawyer said he felt his client was treated “fairly and with respect”, during the trial, ironic given that his client felt no need to show the same to his young players. The Graham James of the world can take solace in the fact that they will be looked after better than their victims. And that is just as wrong as the crimes themselves.
