TORONTO --  

An elite taekwondo coach who sexually abused two teenage students has been sentenced to 6.5 years in prison.

Shin Wook Lim was sentenced this morning after pleading guilty to two additional charges of sexual interference involving the second complainant.

Three charges related to that complainant were also withdrawn.

Lim was found guilty last week of 10 charges, including sexual assault and sexual interference, in connection with a series of incidents involving the first complainant, a high-level athlete who trained with him at the Black Belt World martial arts studio in Toronto.

Three charges related to that complainant were also stayed today because they overlapped with some of the other counts.

Prosecutors noted several aggravating factors, including Lim's position of trust and the fact that the complainants were underage at the time of the incidents, in presenting the joint sentence proposal.

Defence lawyers, meanwhile, highlighted Friday's guilty plea as well as Lim's willingness to go into custody immediately despite several outbreaks of COVID-19 in correctional facilities as mitigating factors.

Both complainants described the lingering harm caused by Lim's actions in victim impact statements delivered in court Friday.

One of the complainants has waived her right to anonymity, while the other's identity remains protected under a publication ban.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021.