Martial arts teacher accused in student sex assaults charged with decades-old crimes

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This article was published 23/08/2016 (3696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg martial arts instructor accused of sexually assaulting some of his students is now facing charges dating back more than 30 years.

King Yeung, 57, was initially charged in May after two of his former students went to police alleging they had been sexually assaulted as teenagers enrolled at Kang’s Taekwondo Academy on McPhillips Street. A third former student came forward soon after, and Yeung now faces four separate sexual assault charges, one of which is noted on court documents as a domestic-violence matter. The earliest sexual assault is alleged to have happened between 1985 and 1989. The others allegedly took place between 2001 and 2015.

Yeung has yet to enter a plea on the charges. He is presumed innocent.

In addition to four counts of sexual assault, Yeung is charged with several counts of sexual exploitation and sexual interference offences, as well as two counts of “corrupting morals” offences for distributing or possessing obscene material.

The case is “a complicated sexual assault matter” that involves multiple complainants and spans several decades, court heard from Yeung’s defence team Monday as lawyers set the next court date for Sept. 12. Yeung is not required to appear in court in person.

Yeung was the academy’s grandmaster and chief instructor and holds an 8th dan (black-belt degree). He was appointed an assistant instructor at Kang’s in 1983 and master instructor in 1986. In 1989, he opened branches of the academy in Île-des-Chênes, Niverville and in the Parkland region. Prior to his arrest, he had been a provincial coach for national team trials since 1995.

Yeung was not a member of Taekwondo Manitoba, but the association has publicly offered its support to the alleged victims in the wake of the criminal charges.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay