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Three-member panels of the Discipline Committee conduct public hearings into cases of alleged incompetence or professional misconduct. Panels are composed of elected and appointed Council members. The certificate of a member found to be incompetent or guilty of professional misconduct may be revoked, suspended, and/or made subject to terms, conditions or limitations. In findings of professional misconduct, the committee may also reprimand, admonish or counsel the member, impose a fine, and order the member to pay costs.
Summaries of recent disciplinary cases are published on the following pages. Copies of the full decisions are available at oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
The College publishes professional advisories, available at oct-oeeo.ca/ advisories, which are intended to inform members’ professional judgment and practice. For more information about the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession, please visit oct-oeeo.ca/ethical.
Member: Aaron Weston Michael Aird
Registration No: 564130
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Waterloo Catholic DSB teacher Aaron Weston Michael Aird for engaging in a sexual relationship with a student.
Aird was not present or legally represented at the November 22, 2013, hearing.
Prior to being certified to teach in August 2009, Aird was a student teacher who was hired by a mother to tutor her daughter twice a week. He was 28 at the time and in his second year of teachers’ college. A sexual relationship between Aird and the student began in November 2008 with sexual touching, and progressed to oral sex and then sexual intercourse. The tutoring stopped in February 2009, but the sexual relationship continued until March 2010 when a friend persuaded the student to go to the police. Aird was charged in March 2010 with two counts of sexual exploitation resulting in a criminal conviction of sexual exploitation and sexual touching, and a sentence of 12 months in jail and 12 months of probation.
Based on the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel, the panel found Aird guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
In its written decision, the panel called Aird’s conduct “reprehensible” and said that his abuse of the public trust warranted his forfeiting the privilege of holding a teaching certificate.
Member: Vincenzo De Petrillo
Registration No: 251339
Decision: Reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded York Region Catholic DSB teacher Vincenzo De Petrillo for slapping a student for swearing.
Certified to teach in June 1983, De Petrillo attended the January 16, 2014, hearing and was represented by legal counsel.
In October 2009, De Petrillo struck a student on the face with an open hand because he did not like that the student swore while talking with a peer. As a result, De Petrillo was charged that November with assault and in December 2010 was criminally convicted. He was granted a conditional discharge, placed on nine months probation and required to perform 20 hours of community service within six months of the conviction.
Based on the evidence, an agreed statement of facts, a guilty plea, a joint submission on penalty, and the submissions of legal counsel, the panel found De Petrillo guilty of professional misconduct. He was ordered to receive a reprimand from the panel immediately following the hearing. De Petrillo must also complete a course of instruction in boundary issues and violations, pre-approved by the Registrar, and provide the Registrar with written confirmation of its successful completion.
The reprimand serves as a specific deterrent and enables the member to consider his future actions, while the coursework serves a rehabilitative need by providing the member with strategies to manage the classroom effectively, the panel said in its written decision.
Member: Peter Jeffrey Floro
Registration No: 280810
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Toronto DSB secondary school teacher Peter Jeffrey Floro for inappropriate communication with students, including inappropriate electronic communications, comments of a sexual nature and sexually abusing a student.
Floro, who was certified to teach in November 1998, did not attend the January 21, 2014, hearing, but was represented by legal counsel.
The panel heard evidence that, in the academic years between 2008 and 2010, Floro engaged in inappropriate communications with students, including sexualized comments. In June 2010, Floro kissed and touched a student sexually at his home.
Based on the evidence, a statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty, and the submissions of legal counsel, the panel found Floro guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
In its written decision, the panel said that Floro “abused his position as a teacher by having inappropriate communications with four students, one of which culminated in sexual contact.”
Member: John Courtney Knollys Folkes
Registration No: 148173
Decision: Reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel ordered Toronto DSB teacher John Courtney Knollys Folkes to receive a reprimand for erratic and unacceptable behaviour.
Folkes, who was certified to teach in June 1985, did not attend the November 5, 2013, hearing nor was he represented.
The panel heard evidence that, in October 2006, Folkes threw chairs and kicked them into the school’s hallway, swore in front of students and the school, belittled support staff, and demanded service that was personal and inappropriate. He also had a fixation about a parking spot he claimed was his, and that he harassed other teachers about using it, including threatening legal action.
Based on the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel, the panel found Folkes guilty of professional misconduct. He was directed to appear before the panel to receive a reprimand. Further, he was ordered to successfully complete a course of instruction in anger management pre-approved by the Registrar, at his own expense, prior to seeking or engaging in employment requiring a Certificate of Qualification and Registration in Ontario. He must provide the Registrar with written confirmation of his successful completion of this course and a psychiatrist’s assessment determining suitability to return to teaching.
In its written decision, the panel said the member “displayed outbursts, both verbal and through his actions, inimical to an educational setting.
“The member created a culture of fear in his school as he let go of his inhibitions to achieve some form of justice as he saw it,” the panel wrote. “[He] was completely unaware of the impact that he was having on other persons in the school. This is not the way a teacher should function.”
Member: Orlando Franco Fusaro
Registration No: 419370
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Toronto Catholic DSB teacher Orlando Franco Fusaro for grooming a student for a sexual relationship.
Fusaro, who was certified to teach in June 1998, did not attend the December 12, 2013, hearing nor was he represented.
The panel heard evidence that, during the 2010–11 school year, Fusaro moved the female student’s desk next to his during class, revealed personal aspects of his domestic relationship, exchanged hundreds of emails of a personal and sexual nature, and commented on the student’s physical attributes. During a playful event in a park in June 2011, Fusaro grabbed the student’s buttocks, which resulted in a charge and conviction of sexual interference. He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference and received a 10-day intermittent jail sentence, 100 hours of community service and three years of probation.
Based on the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel, the panel found Fusaro guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
“The member abused the public trust in a disgraceful manner and has forfeited the privilege of holding a teaching certificate,” the panel said in its written decision.
Member: Darcy Douglas Jack
Registration No: 427549
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of former Rainy River DSB teacher Darcy Douglas Jack for voyeurism.
Jack, who was certified to teach in November 2000, did not attend nor was he represented at the December 12, 2013, hearing.
In February 2008, while two former students were babysitting his children, Jack secretly filmed them showering and performing their bathroom rituals in his unfinished basement bathroom. A camera he had installed was directed at a shower and toilet stall and the students were unaware they were being watched and taped. The images were recorded on a rented laptop. Upon its return, a rental store employee discovered the images and alerted the police.
Jack was subsequently charged in April 2008 and pleaded guilty that August to voyeurism, for which he received a conditional sentence of 90 days and 12 months’ probation. He resigned from the Rainy River board in August 2008.
Based on the evidence, an agreed statement of facts, a guilty plea, a joint submission on penalty, and the submissions of College counsel, the panel found Jack guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
“The member, by videotaping intimate acts of students in the bathroom of his home breached the public trust and the sense of public decency,” the panel said. “[He] used his position of trust as a teacher in a small community to abuse students. Revocation is the fitting consequence.”
Member: James Michael Kowal
Registration No: 153742
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel suspended Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB occasional teacher James Michael Kowal for three months and ordered him to face a reprimand for failing to follow proper dismissal procedures and leaving two Junior Kindergarten students unattended in a school playground in winter.
Certified to teach in June 1971, Kowal did not attend the December 11, 2013, hearing nor was he represented.
Despite being provided information on dismissal routines and having access to clearly posted general practices in the classroom, Kowal left school at the end of the day on December 3, 2010, leaving two students, who had missed the bus, unsupervised in the cold schoolyard. The mother of one of the boys testified that her son required several days of reassurance afterwards that school was a safe place to attend. Following an investigation, Kowal received a disciplinary letter from the board on March 15, 2011, and, having received previous reminders, was suspended without pay until March 31, 2011.
Based on the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and College counsel submissions, the panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct, ordered that his teaching certificate be suspended for three months and that he appear before the panel to receive a reprimand before returning to teaching in Ontario.
In addition, Kowal was ordered to complete a course of instruction in classroom management and teacher accountability at his own expense, pre-approved by the Registrar. Within 15 days of returning to work, Kowal must provide the Registrar with proof of the date he commenced or resumed employment, and that he has made his employer aware of the Discipline Committee’s decision, including the reprimand and conditions.
“The Education Act is clear on the role and responsibilities of teachers, ensuring the safety of students under their care. This includes supervision and safe dismissal,” the panel said in its written decision.
Kowal’s failure to follow the daily plan regarding the dismissal routine or board policy resulted in “disgraceful, dishonourable and definitely unprofessional” behaviour, the panel said. Further, his behaviour “constituted psychological or emotional abuse of a student or students.”
Member: Not identified
Decision: Reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel ordered a College member to receive a reprimand for using inappropriate language in dealing with a student and personally moving the student’s desk.
The member, who was certified to teach in May 2003, attended the December 20, 2013, hearing with legal counsel.
In April 2010, while helping one student, the member was repeatedly interrupted by another asking for help. The member told the second student that, had she paid attention in class, she would have known what to do and that she’d have to wait until she was finished helping the first student. When the member finally offered help, the student refused. On separate occasions in May 2010, the member raised her voice to the same student, who did not want to listen to the member, and called the girl a “spoiled brat” when she didn’t get her way in class. The student talked back to the member and started to play with things inside her desk as she was leaning on top of it. The member turned the student’s desk around so that it was facing opposite the student. The student attempted to turn the desk back toward her with her feet and almost fell off her chair. As a result, the school board suspended the member for 15 days without pay.
Based on the evidence, a statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty, and counsel submissions, the panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct. She was directed to appear before the panel to receive a reprimand. Further, she was ordered to complete a course on classroom management and anger management at her own expense.
Member: Dale Vincent Gerald Maheux
Registration No: 537156
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Lambton DSB teacher Dale Vincent Gerald Maheux for sexually abusing a female.
Maheux, who was licensed to teach in September 2008, was served with the notice of hearing on September 23, 2013, requesting his appearance on October 18, 2013, to set a hearing date. The hearing was held on December 11, 2013, and Maheux was not in attendance, nor was he represented by legal counsel. Satisfied with the evidence in the affidavit that the member had been properly served with the notice of hearing and all disclosure documents, the Discipline Committee panel proceeded to hear the matter in Maheux’s absence.
It was alleged that Maheux had inappropriate contact with the female, which included rubbing the back of her legs, touching her buttocks and her vagina, and having her touch his penis. In July 2011, Maheux was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference. The Ontario Court of Justice found him guilty of the charges in November 2012 and, in April 2013, Maheux was sentenced to six months in jail.
Based on the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and College counsel submissions, the panel found Maheux guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his certificate be revoked.
In its written decision, the panel said that Maheux “engaged in reprehensible, predatory conduct. Not only did the member sexually abuse the victim, he psychologically abused her…Any penalty short of revocation for such an egregious act would bring the College into disrepute.”
Member: Wesley James McConnell
Registration No: 240064
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Wesley James McConnell for defrauding the Thames Valley DSB of $836,739.56.
McConnell, who was certified to teach in June 1984, was the Learning Coordinator of Secondary Athletics for the Thames Valley Region Athletic Association (TVRAA), which coordinates sporting events for the Thames Valley DSB, the London District Catholic School Board, the London District Christian SS, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest and Conseil scolaire de district des écoles catholiques du Sud-Ouest. McConnell did not attend the November 27, 2013, hearing, but was represented by a lawyer.
As the TVRAA Coordinator, McConnell collected payments from the five partners, managed the costs for fields, venue rentals, referees, medics, athletic awards and financial awards for teams taking part in TVRAA championships. He maintained accounting records and prepared annual financial reports for the TVRAA executive and Council.
Between January 2000 and September 2009, McConnell withdrew $461,962.87 from the TVRAA account by debit card or cash for his personal use, usually in increments of $1,000 to $1,200. The evidence showed he also used TVRAA funds to install a pool and pay for landscaping at his home.
A financial audit of the association led to a criminal investigation by the London Police Service Fraud Section in October 2009. The investigation revealed that McConnell defrauded the board of $836,739.56. The Board suspended him and he resigned in October 2009. A year later, he was found guilty on a criminal charge of fraud committed between December 1999 and October 2009, and in March 2011 was sentenced to three years in jail. McConnell was also ordered to pay $771,439.56 in restitution to the board.
Based on the evidence, an agreed statement of facts, a guilty plea, a joint submission on penalty, and submissions from legal counsel, the panel found McConnell guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
“This premeditated, large-scale fraud, over a 10-year period is a serious breach of trust and professional misconduct,” the panel said. “The member betrayed his employer, the profession, the community, student athletes and children in the secondary schools of four boards. The only appropriate penalty to restore public confidence in the teaching profession is revocation of the member’s certificate.”
Member: Danny Schnabel
Registration No: 210962
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of former York Region DSB teacher Danny Schnabel for engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a student.
Schnabel was not present or legally represented at the October 24, 2013, hearing. He was licensed to teach in June 1994.
In November 2011, Schnabel advised his school principal of a potential threat from the parent of one of his enriched program students after the parent learned that Schnabel had been seeing the girl outside of class. The teacher admitted to inviting the student to his home for dinner in July 2011, and meeting her alone at his home almost weekly from September to November that same year. During that time, he kissed, physically touched and held the student. He also took her by car or public transit to movies, art galleries and her family doctor’s office. Schnabel resigned from the school board in December 2011.
Based on the evidence, an agreed statement of facts, a plea of guilt to four of six allegations, a joint submission on penalty and the submissions of College counsel, the panel found Schnabel guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration. Because the panel felt there was insufficient clarity in the evidence, it found the member not guilty of engaging in sexual abuse of a student and, therefore, dismissed those allegations.
“Developing a clandestine personal relationship with a student is an abuse of the trust placed in the profession by the community at large,” the panel said in its written decision. “Parents anticipate that their children will be safe in an educational setting. The member took advantage of this trust.”
Member: Peter David Scorrar
Registration No: 224746
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of former Greater Essex County DSB teacher Peter David Scorrar for engaging in a sexual relationship with a student.
Certified to teach in June 1975, Scorrar was not present or represented legally at the November 25, 2013, hearing.
At the start of the 1988–89 school year, Scorrar began flirting with one of his students. The conduct continued and escalated to the point at which he kissed her on the lips in sight of other students on the last day of school. That summer, the member visited the student at the restaurant where she was working, walked her to her car after work and kissed her.
On more than one occasion during the first month of the next school year, the member drove the student to secluded areas where he would rub, fondle and/or kiss her. Between October and December 1989, he engaged in sexual intercourse or other inappropriate sexual conduct with her.
Also during the 1988–89 academic year, Scorrar invited the student to his home and when confronted by the student’s mother threatened her by saying that she would never see her daughter again.
The student, now a teacher, provided personal journal entries from the time, a letter from Scorrar and notes from a meeting with the school’s principal to support her testimony.
Based on the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel, the panel found Scorrar guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
In its written decision, the panel said the member “demonstrated repeated and blatant disregard for the emotional and physical well-being of the student” and that he showed no remorse for his actions.
Member: Mark Alan H. Speakman
Registration No: 219512
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded Durham Catholic DSB teacher Mark Speakman and ordered his certificate be suspended with conditions for physically and inappropriately disciplining his students.
Speakman, who was certified to teach in 1994, attended the public hearing on November 26, 2013, and was represented by legal counsel.
The panel heard that, in April 2008, Speakman grabbed a male student by the shoulders and pushed him. The Durham Children’s Aid Society investigated the matter, confirmed his behaviour was inappropriate and sent a letter to the member. In 2009, while teaching a different grade at a different school, Speakman again used physical force to discipline his students. In one instance, he grabbed a male student by the shoulders in the stairwell. On another occasion, he yelled at a male student, grabbed him by the arm and pushed him against the blackboard. The Durham Children’s Aid Society confirmed Speakman was physically inappropriate and wrote a letter to the school board’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Administrative Services.
Based on the evidence, an agreed statement of facts, a guilty plea, a joint submission on penalty, and submissions from legal counsel, the panel found Speakman guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to suspend his Certificate of Qualification and Registration for one month. Furthermore, Speakman was ordered to appear before the panel following the hearing to receive a reprimand and required to successfully complete, at his own expense, pre-approved courses of instruction covering classroom management, appropriate boundaries and boundary violation issues.
In its written decision, the panel affirmed that aggressive contact with students is unacceptable, especially with younger children, and that the penalty sends a message to the profession and to the public that this type of misconduct warrants serious consequences. Protection of the public interest is reflected in the member’s suspension, reprimand and coursework.
Publication of the member’s name provides the transparency and openness expected by the public, acts as a specific deterrent to the member and provides general deterrence to the profession.
Member: Not identified
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of a College member who engaged in inappropriate relationships with two students while teaching in British Columbia.
Licensed to teach in Ontario in June 1991, the member represented himself at the January 9, 2014, hearing.
While teaching at a BC high school between 1996 and 1998, the member consorted with a student in a two-year relationship that involved flirting, personal conversations, kissing, hugging, gift giving, and sexual fondling over and under clothing. The member told the student that, even though their relationship was special, he could lose his job if other people learned about it.
Between 1995 and 1997, the member sat a second student on a desk, spread her knees with his hands and told her, “I would like to rip your shirt off right now.” On another occasion when the student was at his home he invited her to try out his new shower.
In September 2002, he resigned from teaching at the board. In December 2004, the BC College of Teachers found him guilty of professional misconduct and cancelled his teaching certificate there.
Based on the evidence, an agreed statement of facts, a guilty plea, a joint submission on penalty, and the submissions of the member and College counsel, the panel found him guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
“The member has betrayed the trust placed in him by the public, one that is implicit in his status as a teacher,” the panel wrote in its decision. “Young people were in his care, and he abused these young people by placing them in sexualized situations. Further, his efforts at hiding these relationships demonstrate significant premeditation.”
Copies of the full decisions are available at oct-oeeo.ca/decisions.