A former youth badminton coach who pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual assault stemming from incidents that occurred from 1970 to 1987 will appear for a sentencing hearing Feb. 18-19.
Harry Charles Sadd, 73, made a brief court appearance Monday, where the hearing was set. The counts against him include three of indecent assault and five of buggery.
Sadd was first arrested in 2016 after a man came to Victoria police with allegations that he had been assaulted from the age of about nine to his late teens. The man was in his 50s at the time, and police said he came forward after years of struggling with what happened to him.
He told police that Sadd had been his badminton coach.
When police asked for other potential victims to contact them, more than two dozen people called.
Sadd was eventually arrested on 23 new charges in June 2017 involving 12 complainants, ages nine to 15.
Sadd had been a teacher in Alberta before becoming a badminton coach in Greater Victoria in the 1970s and 1980s.
Police say there could be victims in multiple provinces.
Sadd, who is on bail, was also charged with failure to comply with bail conditions between Dec. 21, 2016, and June 10, 2017, by being at a public park, schoolyard, daycare centre or other places where people under 18 could be present.
He was charged, as well, with breaching a no-contact order pertaining to a complainant on June 3, 2017.
