Former Whitehorse minor hockey referee gets conditional discharge, probation for assaulting youth

The now-former head referee for the Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association received a conditional discharge and three years' probation Monday for assaulting five youth he was supposed to be mentoring. 

Geoff Muldoon, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of assault earlier this year. In an unusual turn, all the assaults against the five victims were rolled into only one criminal charge.

The assaults, which took place between September and December 2019, included throwing a young referee-in-training over his shoulder, putting his feet in the shower and tickling them, and forcing another youth to push a dime six feet across a changeroom floor with his nose. 

Muldoon was alone with each of the victims, whose names are covered by a publication ban, during the assaults, in violation of the hockey association's policies. 

In victim impact statements read to the court, parents of the victims said the incidents had left their families disillusioned with minor hockey.

Participating in youth sports, one parent said, is supposed to help create memories, but "being assaulted at the rink shouldn't have been one of those memories."

Others said they were '"shocked" and sickened when their children told them about the assaults, with one describing Muldoon's actions as "deplorable."

"Geoff Muldoon was the perpetrator, my son was the victim," a parent said. "Geoff Muldoon was the adult — he should have known better." 

Muldoon chose not to address the court. 

Muldoon thought actions were just 'horseplay,' lawyer says

In sentencing submissions, Crown attorney Jane Park argued that Muldoon deserved a suspended sentence, which would have given him a criminal record, followed by two years' probation. While it was mitigating that Muldoon had no previous record and pleaded guilty, Park said there were a number of aggravating factors, including that Muldoon's victims were under 18 and that he had abused a position of trust and authority. 

Although the assaults were on the "low end," Park said the court had to take into account the circumstances under which they occurred. As well, she pointed out that Muldoon was reprimanded by the Ontario College of Teachers in 2007 for inviting youth for sleep-overs at his house and offering them alcohol. 

"Mr. Muldoon is clearly showing a pattern" of inappropriate behaviour with youth, Park said. 

Muldoon's lawyer Jennifer Budgell, meanwhile, sought a conditional discharge followed by probation. 

Muldoon had no interest in returning to refereeing, she said, and, since 2014, has worked at Fleming Protection & Security. To maintain his employment, Muldoon is required to have a security professional licence; Budgell said while a record wouldn't automatically prevent him from renewing his licence, a discharge would be the "lesser of two evils." 

The assaults, Budgell continued, did not result in any physical injuries, nor did Muldoon intend to cause harm — he had grown up playing hockey, but has learned through counselling that "what he believed was horseplay, what he believed was harmless" behaviour was, in fact, harmful.

Media attention around the case, she added, had already had a "significant" deterrent effect on him.

Muldoon also submitted seven letters of support, including one from his employer. 

Probation conditions include not participating in youth sports

Deputy territorial court judge Kathleen Caldwell, in sentencing Muldoon, acknowledged the "tensions" between the victim impact statements and letters of support.

She also noted the impact the assaults had had on families, but said the fact that it was Muldoon's first time before the court was a "significant" mitigating factor, along with his guilty plea. 

Caldwell ultimately handed down a conditional discharge to Muldoon followed by three years' probation, the maximum allowed under the law. He will have to comply with a number of conditions, including not having any contact with the victims, taking counselling as directed — particularly, in regards to boundaries with young people — and not participating in any sports involving people under the age of 18. 

The Crown withdrew four other assault charges against him.