Former Skate Canada coach guilty of 8 sexual offences against teen skaters

A former Skate Canada coach has been convicted of eight sexual offences against two teenage victims, both of whom were under his tutelage as figure skaters when the crimes occurred.

Matt Power was found guilty of sexual assault, child luring, sexual interference and making pornography available to minors, as well as related charges, in Supreme Court in St. John's Wednesday morning.

He was acquitted of one other luring charge and another charge of making sexual material available to a minor.

Power's supporters hung their heads silently as Justice Valerie Marshall handed down her verdict. She did not read from her written decision.

Power's attorney, Rosellen Sullivan, asked Marshall to keep her client out of custody until his next hearing, arguing he needed time to get his affairs in order before beginning his sentence.

Marshall declined and remanded Power into custody, citing the seriousness of his offences.

Both of Power's victims were between the ages of 13 and 16, and were figure skaters in communities in the St. John's area when he sexually abused them. One of the victims testified she wasn't yet 16 when Power penetrated her digitally, performed oral sex on her and requested lewd photos. 

Power was in his mid-20s at the time.

The second victim testified that Power sent her messages over Snapchat that contained sexual overtures and content.

Those images were presented as evidence during Power's trial, and included messages that said "well I've been told I'm really good with my tongue" and "my pullout game is strong lol."

Power will return to court early next year for sentencing submissions.

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