Disgraced figure skating coach Matthew Power has been sentenced to six years in prison for sexually assaulting two teenage girls he was instructing in the C.B.S. area.
The assaults occurred at Power’s house, in his vehicles, outside one of the girl’s cabins in Brigus, and in a storage room at the stadium in C.B.S.
Supreme Court Justice Valerie Marshall said Power groomed the girls, aged 14 to 16 at the time, mostly through Snapchat.
The judge said that alone was an example of his deceit and efforts to avoid detection on an app that automatically erases messages.
Court heard, however, that one of the girls took screenshots of those messages with another phone, ensuring they wouldn’t be lost.
The messages were sexually suggestive and included the sharing of naked photos back and forth, which eventually led to the in-person sex acts.
Power appeared by video from jail in Bishop’s Falls for his sentencing today. (VOCM News)
Power, 30, was convicted in November of sexual assault, child luring, sexual interference and making porn available to children between 2016 and 2020. Originally from Marystown, he was working toward national coaching certification at the time.
In sentencing Power, Marshall said he’s showed no remorse and in fact still believes he’s innocent.
That’s despite the long-term serious harm such crimes have on children, the judge noted.
Power’s six-year sentence will be reduced by almost 200 days, for the time he’s already served in custody.
He’ll also be on the national sex offender registry for life, and must have no contact with the victims or their families.
Power is also prohibited from any position of trust with children, or from using the internet or other digital networks, for 10 years after his release.
