Retired Edmonton piano teacher handed prison term for sexually abusing students

A retired Edmonton piano teacher convicted of sexually abusing two students was handed a five-and-a-half year prison term Tuesday.

Daniel Chong, 66, was taken into custody after Court of King's Bench Justice Shaina Leonard levied a sentence that she said takes into account the "immeasurable amount of emotional pain" experienced by his two students, who trusted him.

"The harm to both victims was profound," she said.

Leonard sentenced Chong to one year for sexual interference of a student in March 2009, and five years for sexually assaulting another student in 2002. 

However, the judge found that a six-year sentence would be unduly harsh, and so reduced it by six months. The students were 15 and 18 years old around the time of the offences.

Crown prosecutor Ashley Finlayson argued for a total sentence of six years, while defence lawyer Evan McIntyre argued for a three-and-a-half year term.

During the trial, Chong acknowledged that he touched his students, but said it was tapping their thigh or knee to guide them when they make mistakes — a technique he used as part of having been trained in the style of Hungarian virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt.

Leonard said Monday that tapping and touching is a legitimate teaching technique, but explained that Chong's offences against both boys during private lessons held in Chong's home were something else.

Court heard that in the case of the sexual interference conviction, Chong gifted a student a belt and stuck his hand down the student's pants as he helped him put the belt on. They went on to complete the day's piano lesson.

The youth told his parent after the lesson. The parent returned the belt to Chong and cancelled all future lessons.

Leonard found that the other boy was groomed and manipulated through an escalating pattern of hugging, touching and groping, before Chong ultimately sexually assaulted him in the bedroom of his home. 

The boy contacted police about what happened, first in 2016, and then again in 2020.

Leonard said she'd received a number of letters of reference for Chong, from other students' families and from members of his church community, that were supportive of his character.

The judge said some of the letters deny that the offences happened, and one letter states that the victims were lying and that the convictions were a result of a new ideological movement.

Leonard noted that character traits displayed in public don't mean much when it comes to offences committed in secret — as sexual offences against children often are. 

The judge said that the victim impact statements provided by both victims demonstrate the lasting harm Chong caused to their mental, emotional and physical well-being, and to their professional and personal lives.

In addition to the prison sentence, Leonard also ordered Chong to provide a sample of his DNA, directed that he will appear on a sex offenders registry for 20 years and issued a lifetime firearms prohibition.

Leonard noted that Chong retired last year and that while he is a low risk to re-offend, the risk is not zero. She said that Chong has not sought any treatment or counselling, and has yet to offer any kind of explanation for his behaviour. 

Chong did not have a previous criminal record, though this case wasn't the first time he faced such allegations by a student. 

In 2012 he was charged for alleged incidents between 2004 and 2007 but ultimately acquitted.