Search continues for Sask. pastor named in lawsuit who authored spanking handbook
The plaintiffs who filed a $25-million lawsuit earlier this summer have been unable to find the former pastor at the centre of it.
Pastor Keith Johnson is believed to be living in Oklahoma. According to court filings, he’s been "evading" officials trying various ways of serving him the lawsuit documents.
Grant Scharfstein, the lawyer representing more than 30 former students and members of Christian Centre Academy and Christian Centre Church, said Johnson is the only one out of 20 defendants who hasn’t been served.
“In the vast majority of cases, serving the various named parties and defendants isn't a problem. But from time to time you run into someone who evades service or tries to escape service,” Scharfstein said. “And then you have to get a court to find another way to serve them.”
Saskatoon Court of King's Bench Justice Grant Currie agreed to grant a request from Scharfstein to shift the responsibility to Johnson's son-in-law, who is in contact with Johnson and had agreed to get the documents to him.
The process known as “substitutional service” became Scharfstein’s alternative way of getting the documents to Johnson.
“They're not uncommon, but they're not common,” Scharfstein said. “I have no doubt that he's evading service.”
The allegations of abuse at the school have prompted an investigation into the independent school system in Saskatchewan by the province's children's advocate. The province also appointed an independent administrator to oversee operations at the school this fall.
Some former students are demanding more. They want the government to shut down the school, now called Legacy Christian Academy, or at least suspend the roughly $700,000 in annual taxpayer funds that go towards its operations.
Johnson’s estranged granddaughter and a plaintiff in one of the court documents Cassie Klassen said she wasn’t surprised to see her grandfather's name in the allegations, and she doesn’t imagine he will ever answer to them.
“I wouldn't be surprised if he's saying something along the lines of he did what God told him to do and now he's just being persecuted for doing what's right. So sadly, I don't see him ever taking responsibility or ownership for any of this,” Klassen said.
Klassen and other former students compared Johnson and his behaviour to that of a cult leader with an inflated ego.
Johnson authored 'The Child Training Seminar', a manual on corporal punishment used at the school.
Over the past month, there have been numerous attempts to reach Johnson by phone, at his home, or at a church in Tulsa, Okla. he regularly attends.
“He's gonna run, he's gonna hide. He's just playing by the cult leader textbook,” former student Caitlin Erickson said.
Klassen grew up in Saskatoon and is a former student and church member of Christian Centre Academy. Now living in Dallas, Klassen said she cut off all contact with Johnson and other members of the family last year.
Dean Schmidt, the son in-law who initially agreed to hand over the court documents to Johnson, has withdrawn his support and told the official in Oklahoma who met with him that any other visit to his home would be considered trespassing.
With nowhere else to turn, Scharfstein is submitting another application to the Court of King’s Bench to use regular mail to send the documents to him. Scharfstein would also send a copy to his son, Brien Johnson, who's the current pastor at Mile Two Church.
“I think until the day he dies, he will always paint himself in the light of he was right and what he did was somehow justified,” Klassen said.
CTV News unsuccessfully attempted to contact Johnson using his last known phone numbers and addresses. No statements of defence have been filed and none of the allegations have been proven in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
NEW High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
NEW Where to watch the state funeral for former prime minister Brian Mulroney
A state funeral for former prime minister Brian Mulroney will be held in Montreal on March 23. CTV News will have live special coverage of his funeral service.
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.