Former basketball coach pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

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A former youth basketball volunteer and Alberta government employee has pleaded guilty to possessing hundreds of child sexual abuse images, including on his work laptop.

Ronald Feniuk appeared in Edmonton King’s Bench on Wednesday to plead guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. His case will then go to court on November 1 to set a sentencing date.

According to an agreed statement of facts read in court by prosecutor Craig Krieger, an Internet service provider alerted police that one of its users in Stony Plain had accessed child pornography using its system.

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Police searched Feniuk’s home on January 19, 2023 and seized two phones and his work laptop.

One of the phones contained two videos believed to be child pornography, stored on the encrypted chat service Telegram. It could not be determined whether Feniuk’s phone was sending or receiving the images, Krieger said.

The second phone contained 38 images of child sexual abuse found in a cache folder. The images had been deleted from the device’s photo gallery by the time it was seized by police.

The laptop contained 381 images and three videos. As was the case with the second phone, almost all of the original images were deleted, although a cache folder retained thumbnail copies of the material.

Krieger said the files depict sexual assaults on young girls, as well as girls under the age of 12 in sexualized poses.

Feniuk was scheduled to go on trial Tuesday before Judge Shaina Leonard, but proceedings were delayed while the Crown and defense managed to enter guilty pleas.

Feniuk worked at the Alberta Department of Forestry and Agriculture. Postmedia contacted the province regarding his current employment situation but did not receive a response as of press time.

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He volunteered for Parkland Basketball, which said he was “indefinitely terminated” after the organization learned of the accusations on Jan. 26, 2023.

“Parkland Basketball remains diligent in protecting our members,” the organization said in a statement. “We have been assured that at no time have any of our members been exploited by the behavior of this individual. All fees are independent of any athlete, member or affiliate of Parkland Basketball.

Scouts Canada confirmed Feniuk volunteered with the organization between 2012 and 2019. A spokesperson said Feniuk was subject to a criminal record check every three years and met screening requirements when he worked for the organization. “There was no indication (from police) that the young scouts were in danger,” the spokesperson said.

Feniuk was initially charged with possession and transmission of child pornography. His lawyer, Kristofer Advent, told the court that his client was currently undergoing treatment.

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