A former Manitoba hockey coach who admitted to luring and sexually assaulting a teenage player on her team is expected to start serving her prison sentence in May, after a hearing Thursday where her sentence was supposed to be handed down was postponed because of health issues.

Madison Biluk, 31, was charged in 2023 for abuse court heard happened between October 2019 and February 2021, when she groomed and sexually exploited a player on her team. She pleaded guilty in 2024.

Biluk was between 24 and 26 years old at the time of the offences, while the player was 15 and 16, court previously heard. The player’s identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

Defence lawyers and prosecutors in the case jointly recommended a six-year sentence in January. The judge’s sentencing decision was set to happen after Biluk completed scheduled surgery. 

While that surgery happened in February, defence lawyer Saul Simmonds requested a six-week adjournment on Thursday to give Biluk time to complete some post-surgery rehabilitation and get a medical diagnosis for her celiac disease so she could receive appropriate food in prison.

Crown attorney Larissa Campbell opposed that request, saying the case has already taken a long time to get to sentencing and prosecutors previously agreed to adjourn the matter to allow Biluk to get surgery.

“Justice must be seen in order to be done. And where proceedings are repeatedly delayed, that impacts justice for victims, but also the public perception of the administration of justice,” Campbell said, adding many inmates in imperfect health are taken into custody, and prisons have an obligation to ensure their health and safety.

“At best, it’s an attempt to forestall the inevitable conclusion.”

Defence lawyer Simmonds denied that, saying Biluk — who sat in court with her family, wearing a brace on her arm — would currently have difficulty putting her hands behind her back or being handcuffed.

“We are not, in any way, shape or form, asking the court to reconsider the decision,” Simmonds said. “We’re not delaying justice. Justice has been, from our perspective, accomplished here.”

Manitoba provincial court Judge Jerilee Ryle said she was “mindful that justice delayed is justice denied,” but granted the request to adjourn for six weeks, noting guilty pleas have already been entered and sentencing submissions on a joint recommendation made.

“This is not a situation where she is delaying the entering of guilty pleas, or is asking for the full 12-week recovery period,” Ryle said.

Victim described ‘severe’ impact on life

Court heard Biluk’s relationship with the player started with driving her to practices and taking her skating, but later involved late-night calls and private messages on Snapchat that included explicit photographs, as well as personal discussions about sex and relationships.

Biluk at one point told the player they shouldn’t pursue a relationship because she was her coach, but her behaviour quickly escalated and soon involved taking intimate and nude videos and photos with the girl, and kissing and touching the player sexually, court previously heard.

In a victim impact statement previously read in court, the player said what happened had a “severe” emotional impact on her life, leaving her with low self-worth, persistent mistrust, depression and anxiety that caused her to lose jobs and weakened her relationships with other people. Court heard the girl has attempted suicide twice.

When given the chance to speak in court, Biluk previously apologized to the player for the harm she caused, and to everyone else affected by what she did. 

Court previously heard Biluk is no longer coaching and remains out on bail under conditions. 

She coached hockey from 2019 through 2023, and during that time drew concerns on several occasions from coaching staff who said her behaviour went beyond the professional coach-player relationship, prosecutors previously said. Those concerns resulted in several warnings but did not curb her behaviour.

After her contact with the player involved in the criminal proceedings ended, Biluk continued coaching in Alberta and Manitoba, where her behaviour again raised concerns about inappropriate boundaries with players.

While there were investigations into her behaviour in both provinces, no further charges were pursued, court heard.