Coach Sentenced for Abusing Student

0:00A Quebec court judge is set to hand down a nine-year prison sentence to Robert Lew, a former high school coach in Montreal's St. Laurent area. Lew, now 35, sexually abused one of his students when she was just 12 to 15 years old. The prosecutor and defense both agreed on this term, pointing to the girl's young age and how often the abuse happened. Prosecutors compared it to similar cases where offenders got 7 to 14 years behind bars. This fits right in that range, they said, underlining the severity. Lew starts serving time immediately, as his lawyer even had him pack an overnight bag for custody. During the trial, Lew claimed he was like an older brother, driving her to physio and coaching her team starting in grade 6. But the judge ruled last December that it was sexual assault, interference and invitation to touching, trusting the victim's word over his denial. The victim shared a powerful statement at the hearing, saying the trauma changed her view of herself and the world, even after years of therapy.

1:00Lew stayed silent when given a chance to speak. It's a tougher reminder of trust broken by those in charge. Meanwhile, this stems from a 2022 probe where Lew and two other coaches from the same school faced charges for abusing players. One got acquitted, another took a four-year plea deal. Just as keeps unfolding for these cases, you've been listening to Canada News today, AI-powered local news.