Emotional victim impact statements heard in Graham James sentencing

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Todd Holt, left, and his girlfriend leave court with Sheldon Kennedy during a lunch break in the sentencing hearing for Graham James.

A Manitoba judge has reserved her decision on the sentencing of Graham James until March 20.

Justice officials are seeking a six-year prison sentence for James, who has pleaded guilty to molesting two more former junior hockey players.

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Greg Gilhooly arrives at Manitoba Law Courts for the sentencing hearing of Graham James. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Sheldon Kennedy says mandatory minimum sentences reflect new awareness. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Theo Fleury speaks with reporters about Graham James on Wednesday in Vancouver. (WARD PERRIN / POSTMEDIA PNG)

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Attorney Evan Roitenberg, right, leds his client Graham James, centre, out of a building connected to the Law Courts following his sentencing hearing in Winnipeg on Wednesday. One of Canada's most abhorred sex offenders and notorious former junior coaches stood in a courtroom Wednesday and apologized for the sexual abuse which shattered the trust of the hockey world and the lives of some of its most promising players. (TREVOR HAGAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The 59-year-old James, looking thin and frail, appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom today at his sentencing hearing. James pleaded gulty last December to sexually abusing two more players between 1983 and 1994.

Crown attorney Colleen McDuff provided graphic details of the crimes James committed against former National Hockey League star Theoren Fleury and another former junior player, Todd Holt. Both men agreed to have their names publicized.

Holt read an emotional victim impact statement in court, describing how James ruined his life.

"Graham James took away every part of me that my family had brought me up to be. I will always be left picking up the pieces," he said, struggling to keep his composure while standing just metres away from James.

"What that man did to me and many others is the cruellest form of abuse. I want peace, and justice."

Fleury didn’t attend the hearing, but provided his own impact statement which was read aloud by McDuff. Fleury previously went public with allegations against James in a bestselling autobiography called Playing With Fire released two years ago.

James has been free on bail since shortly after his arrest in 2010 after the allegations emerged.

James admitted to molesting Fleury on hundreds of occasions while coaching him from 1983 to 1985 in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The crimes included times when Fleury was asleep, and escalated both in volume and seriousness, court was told.

"I remember being horrified, extremely scared and confused," said Fleury. He eventually gave in to James, citing pure "exhaustion." His nights would often end with him crying himself to sleep, court was told.

"I was physically there but mentally gone," he said.

Fleury was repeatedly "groomed" by James, who took advantage of the fact he came from a troubled environment while living in Russell, Manitoba, court was told. James promised him a ticket to the NHL and used that power to control him. He coached him for several years, including with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League.

"Mr. James was effectively revered in the hockey world. It was recognized and understood he had a tremendous amount of power," McDuff said.

James also admitted to "virtually similar" attacks on Holt while coaching him with the Swift Current Broncos from 1989 to 1994 in Saskatchewan.

"He was fearful if he did not comply it would end his hockey career," said McDuff. "Mr. Holt truly felt James could ruin him with one phone call. He was left in a horrible situation, unable to extricate himself from the situation."

James also verbally degraded and threatened him repeatedly, court was told.

The Crown stayed charges against James relating to the alleged third victim, who requested a publication ban be lifted so his name could be released. That man, Greg Gilhooly, was also in court Wednesday. McDuff said charges relating to Gilhooly were dropped after lengthy consultation, and that allowed the case against James to be expedited by avoiding a trial.

Wednesday afternoon, the defence lawyer for James sayshis client shouldn't have to go back to jail.

Evan Roitenberg is asking that James receive 12 to 18 months to be served in the community.

He suggests the sentence could include a curfew and any other conditions the court may wish to impose.

Roitenberg says his client is rehabilitated and is not the "beast" he has been made out to be.

James was previously convicted in 1997 of sexual assaults against three other former players and served about 18 months of a 3-1/2-year prison sentence. One of those players was former NHL star Sheldon Kennedy, who has also gone public with the story of his abuse. He was in court on Wednesday, sitting with Holt and Gilhooly for support.

James had been living in Mexico but agreed to turn himself in to Canadian authorities in late 2010 after Fleury, Holt and Gilhooly went to police.

James received a controversial pardon in 2007 for his original set of offences, but that was revoked after his most recent arrest. The Conservative government has since revamped the pardon system, especially for convicted sex offenders such as James.

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