Former high school coach charged with more sex offences

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This article was published 13/10/2022 (757 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former high school football coach accused of grooming and sexually assaulting students now faces a total of 30 charges after a 10th man stepped forward to report abuse.

Kelsey Albert Dana McKay, 52, was charged with six additional offences Thursday: sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual exploitation, making harassing telephone calls and two counts of luring.

He was again released under conditions authorized by Crown attorneys, the Winnipeg Police Service said Friday.

McKay coached for three decades at Churchill High School and Vincent Massey Collegiate. As of last month, he was facing 24 charges connected to nine complainants, all men who were under 18 at the time of the alleged offences. The allegations against McKay date back to the late 1990s to the 2000s.

“He hasn’t been convicted — but with the number of similar allegations I think it highlights that a prolific child offender has been arrested,” Winnipeg police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said Friday.

His next court date is Nov. 1.

McKay was arrested April 12 after five men reported alleged sexual abuse that took place between 2004 and 2011, while they were students and football players. He was charged with 14 sexual assault and exploitation-related offences.

Police held a news conference the following day to announce the charges. Not long after, three other men contacted sex-crimes investigators and, on April 29, McKay was charged with eight additional sex offences.

Another accuser contacted investigators to report being exploited and sexually assaulted while he was a teen student; McKay was charged with two additional offences on Sept. 7.

And on Sept. 28, the 10th man, a former Vincent Massey student, told investigators McKay lured, harassed and sexually assaulted him during the 2000s, leading to the latest charges.

McKinnon said the men were brave to come forward.

“They believe that they were ready to do this,” she said.

Police said at a news conference in mid-September that there might be more victims. McKinnon said investigators are ready to help anyone who may want to speak to them.

“You come forward if and when you’re ready to come forward. An investigative team, a specialized investigative team, will be there to walk you through the process, as well as having periphery victim services and other agencies, if that’s something a victim could benefit from,” she said.

“The tempo of the process is dictated by the survivor, because it may take a very long time to go through the entire scenario, if it happened once or if it was repeated offences for years.”

Police ask anyone who wants to speak to investigators about McKay to call 204-986-6245. Supports are available through WPS Victim Services at 204-986-6350 or the Klinic Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 204-786-8631, police said.

McKay was placed on unpaid leave from Vincent Massey on April 13, and Pembina Trails School Division barred him from the property.

According to his first April release order, McKay was prohibited from coaching football in any capacity or being in a position of authority over a youth. He’s not allowed to have contact with anyone under the age of 18 (including communication by any means) except in unavoidable public encounters. He’s not allowed to be where youths under 18 could be present, including schools, daycares, playgrounds or community centres.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera reports for the city desk, with a particular focus on crime and justice.

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