Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Ontario College of Teachers Hearings -- June 2016


Three-member panels of the Discipline Committee conduct public hearings into cases of alleged incompetence or professional misconduct... Discipline Committee panels have ordered that summaries of these recent disciplinary cases be published in Professionally Speaking. Copies of the full decisions are available at oct.ca/members/complaints-and-discipline/decisions.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of teacher and priest William Joseph Allen in relation to criminal convictions for the indecent assault of two students... Allen was a teacher at the victims’ school in the Ottawa Catholic School Board and a Catholic priest at their church. The sexual abuse occurred in Allen’s room in the school, in the church rectory, after choir practice and at his cottage. The abuse occurred repeatedly over a six-year period, from 1970 to 1976, and had a devastating effect on the victims and their families. Allen, convicted of two counts of indecent assault, was handed a nine-month conditional sentence followed by 12 months of probation in April 2011. He was also prohibited for 10 years from being in the presence of persons under the age of 16, seeking and maintaining any employment or volunteer opportunities that involved being in a position of trust or authority toward persons under 16, or using a computer to communicate with persons under 16.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Thomas Collins Auchincloss in connection with a criminal conviction for gross indecency involving his student... Auchincloss, who taught at a Mississauga high school in the Peel District School Board, was certified to teach in August 1965... The member engaged in a sexual relationship with his student for six years from approximately 1971 to April 1977. Auchincloss was convicted of gross indecency in relation to the student on October 6, 2011. He was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest and 18 months of probation.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Dean Frederick Buchanan for engaging in a sexual relationship with a female student he formerly coached... Buchanan was an elementary school teacher who also coached a high school team in the Thames Valley District School Board. The student attended the high school and was on Buchanan’s team in 2005. He was involved in a sexual relationship, including sexual intercourse, with her in the spring of 2006.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Paul Jorge Da Rosa for engaging in a sexual relationship with a female student, including sexual intercourse on multiple occasions. Da Rosa, a former Thames Valley District School Board secondary school teacher, was certified to teach in October 1997... During the 2008–09 school year, Da Rosa and the student began working together alone in his classroom. The relationship began to involve physical contact, which escalated to kissing and progressed to sexual intercourse. They engaged in sexual intercourse in Da Rosa’s classroom, in his hotel room and in his car. The relationship continued after the student graduated and lasted until 2010. She reported the matter to the school principal in 2012. Da Rosa resigned from the school board on December 6, 2012.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Gregory Philip Henry Hamelin in connection with criminal convictions for sexual offences involving five students. Hamelin, certified to teach in June 1996, was employed by the District School Board of Niagara... Hamelin engaged in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with five female students from 2003 to 2010. This included electronic communication of a sexual nature, games of “truth or dare” and encouraging sexual touching between two students. The activities occurred at Hamelin’s farm, in his car and at a public park. Hamelin pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual offences and offences tending to corrupt morals under the Criminal Code. In April 2012, he was sentenced to 12 months in jail, in addition to the 19 days of pre-sentence custody he served, and three years of probation. His probation restricted his access to anyone under the age of 16.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of former Ottawa-Carleton District School Board teacher Tariq Saeed Khan for pursuing a personal and sexual relationship with a female student... During the 2009–10 school year, Khan text messaged the student about personal matters and met with her alone on and off school property on several occasions, including having a coffee after class. He spent time with the student alone in his car, and once tried to put his hand down her pants to initiate a sexual encounter. Khan resigned from the school board on December 14, 2010.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Eric John Maillard for accessing and possessing child pornography... Based on police evidence and testimony, the committee found Maillard accessed and possessed child pornography from August 1, 2007, to October 23, 2009. A detective testified at the hearing that police were contacted after a computer with suspected child pornography images was brought into a repair shop in Winnipeg. A work order identified Maillard as the computer’s owner. Maillard admitted in a police video interview that he was addicted to pornography. Police found 197 images on his computer that met the Criminal Code definition of child pornography. He also used Google to search terms such as “Child Porn Law Canada.”

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Peter John Nelson, a former teacher at the Rainbow District School Board, in connection with multiple criminal offences... College counsel described Nelson’s criminal activity, as noted in the Brief of Court Documents in detail, as an egregious case of sexual abuse involving the premeditated sexual touching of two young females for whom he was in a position of trust.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Terence Kazuo Takashima because he “abused his position as a teacher and coach by choosing to engage in an inappropriate and sexual relationship with a student.”.. Takashima was employed as an occasional teacher with the Toronto District School Board and coached a school team. The student was a member of the team. Four people testified during the hearing and the committee found that there was “clear, cogent and convincing evidence that the member engaged in oral sex with a student” in the school staff room on December 7, 2010. Takashima and the student said they hugged but denied there was a sexual relationship. The school board terminated Takashima’s employment on February 21, 2012.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of James Douglas Welch for possessing pornographic material on his classroom computer and described him as a “repeat offender.”.. On January 21, 2010, the image of a nude woman was briefly displayed on Welch’s classroom computer and viewed by a student. Further review of his computer revealed numerous inappropriate and nude images of women. Welch also contravened a written undertaking he gave to the College in July 2006 to not use school or board computers for viewing, accessing or downloading inappropriate or pornographic materials. Welch resigned from the school board effective February 28, 2010.

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Ira Mark Young, a former teacher at the Toronto District School Board, for a number of inappropriate interactions with a male student, which resulted in Young being charged with sexual exploitation and being found guilty of assault... The panel heard that, in the fall of 2011, Young called the student to invite him to a barbecue at his home. He also asked him to help him with chores for $100. Young greeted the student wearing shorts and holding a glass of wine. During the course of the time the student was at Young’s home, he made a number of comments to the student and asked him a number of questions that were sexual in nature. While sitting on a couch, Young touched the student’s foot with his foot. In February 2012, Young was charged with sexual exploitation with respect to his conduct with the student. In August 2013, Young was found guilty of assaulting the student for which he received a suspended sentence and three years probation. His employment was terminated by his board in November 2013.

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2 comments:

  1. Each and every sex offender under Ontario Law has a legal avenue to become teachers in Ontario! That is the Law thanks to all the administrators who supported Judge Lesage report. Not one member of the public was allowed to submit any concerns they had about the outrageous abuse of power. http://canadians4accountability.org/tag/jim-black/

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Here-today. That's a very valuable and informative resource. More education activists need to know about it.

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