A sentencing hearing is underway for a Calgary man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to several sexual abuse charges involving members of the Young Canadians performance group.
Philip Heerema, 55, was charged in 2015 after police received a complaint about an inappropriate relationship between a person of authority with the Calgary performance group and a teenager.
Heerema worked for the Young Canadians for over 30 years and resigned from his position after the allegations surfaced.
The charges dated back to 1992 and eight victims, between the ages of 15 and 18, were identified by police during the investigation.
Heerema was facing 20 offences including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, child pornography and luring and pleaded guilty to eight of the charges in January 2018.
The remaining 12 charges in the case were stayed and the Crown and defence made a joint submission for a ten year sentence.
On Tuesday, the mother of one of the victims read a victim impact statement and said that Heerema was a very ‘skilled hunter’ who was able to zero in on his targets.
The prosecution called Heerema a wolf in sheep’s clothing and said he used his position of trust to groom and take advantage of his victims.
The court will hear submissions from the defence on Tuesday afternoon and a decision on sentencing is expected to be made on Wednesday.
