Discipline Panel DecisionsPanels of the Discipline Committee have ordered summaries of recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking. Member: Michael Bath A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on June 10, 2003 into allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence against Michael Bath of Toronto. Bath, 51, was certified to teach in 1982 and was employed by the Peel District School Board. Bath was present at the hearing and was represented by counsel. The allegations of professional misconduct against Bath included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Education Act, committing acts that would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, engaging in conduct unbecoming a member and displaying a lack of knowledge, skill or judgement that demonstrates that he is either unfit to carry out professional responsibilities or that his certificates should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations. Bath pleaded guilty to the allegations. In an agreed statement of facts Bath admitted to tipping over a desk/chair combination in which a student was sitting and to grabbing the student's wrists and struggling with him until the student fell. Bath acknowledged lack of judgement in his handling of a difficult student. The panel accepted a joint submission as to penalty. Bath was reprimanded and ordered to undertake counselling at his own expense in a program acceptable to the College regarding discipline techniques and classroom management for dealing with difficult students. Bath must provide proof to the Registrar of his successful completion of the program by December 31, 2003. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Christopher Roy Clause A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on September 29, 2003 into allegations of professional misconduct against Christopher Roy Clause of Hamilton. Clause, 37, was certified to teach in 1991 and was employed by a private school. Clause was present and was represented by counsel. The allegations of professional misconduct against Clause included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Ontario College of Teachers Act and/or the Education Act, committing acts that would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, engaging in conduct unbecoming a member and displaying a lack of knowledge, skill or judgement that demonstrates that he is either unfit to carry out professional responsibilities or that his certificates should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations. The panel heard evidence that Clause engaged in inappropriate behaviour with a female student, which began when she was 16 years old. Clause sent the student e-mails and letters during the 2000-2001 school year telling her he loved her and wanted a romantic and intimate relationship with her. The panel accepted a memorandum of agreement in which Clause pleaded guilty to all allegations and accepted the particulars of the allegations contained in the notice of hearing. Under the terms of the memorandum of agreement Clause's Certificates of Qualification and Registration were suspended for 12 months beginning September 1, 2003. The panel ordered Clause to undergo instruction at his own expense on maintaining appropriate student-teacher relationships. Clause is also required to provide the Registrar with a report from a counsellor before the end of his suspension on his ability to maintain appropriate student-teacher boundaries and whether he is fit to return to teaching responsibilities without risk of harm or injury to students. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: David Savage Eastwood A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on October 1, 2003 into allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence against David Savage Eastwood of Peterborough. Eastwood, 57, was certified to teach in 1972 and was employed by the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Eastwood chose not to attend the hearing but was represented by counsel. The allegations of professional misconduct against Eastwood included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Education Act, contravening laws relevant to his suitability to hold a certificate of qualification, contravening a law which caused a student under his professional supervision to be put at risk, committing acts that would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, engaging in conduct unbecoming a member and displaying a lack of knowledge, skill or judgement that demonstrates that he is either unfit to carry out professional responsibilities or that his certificates should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations. The panel accepted an agreed statement of facts in which Eastwood pleaded guilty to allegations of professional misconduct involving three female students and pleaded no contest to allegations involving 10 other female students under 14 years of age. The incidents of abuse, in which Eastwood inappropriately touched the students, occurred between 1987 and 2002. The panel heard that Eastwood was convicted of the sexual abuse of three Grade 7 and 8 students in April 2003 under the Criminal Code of Canada and received a one-year conditional sentence to be served in the community. Charges involving 10 other female students were withdrawn and Eastwood agreed not to dispute the students' allegations during the College's investigation. The panel ordered Eastwood's Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. Eastwood agreed that he will never teach again in any public or private school in Ontario or elsewhere and that he will never seek reinstatement in the College. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Denis Michel Gaumond A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on June 23, 2003 into allegations of professional misconduct against Denis Michel Gaumond of Gloucester. Gaumond, 39, was certified to teach in 1987 and was a teacher with the Conseil scolaire de district catholique du Centre-Est de l'Ontario. Gaumond chose not to be present at the hearing nor to be represented by counsel. The allegations of professional misconduct against Gaumond included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Education Act, contravening laws relevant to his suitability to hold a certificate of qualification and registration, contravening a law which caused a student under his supervision to be put at risk, committing acts that would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional and engaging in conduct unbecoming a member. The panel heard evidence that the victim had been a student of Gaumond's in Grades 9 and 10. While she was in Grade 11 Gaumond showed her erotic photos in a magazine and asked her to pose for him. On at least two occasions, when Gaumond photographed her at the school and later when the two were alone in a room adjacent to the gym, Gaumond touched the student sexually. At the graduation ceremony Gaumond told the student she was very pretty and as they were leaving the room he touched her buttocks. The discipline panel heard evidence from a member of the Ottawa police department who investigated Gaumond. The officer testified that during a search of Gaumond's residence she found a white briefcase containing pictures cut from Playboy magazines and blown-up photographs of the student and others. As a result of the investigation Gaumond was charged with and found guilty under the Criminal Code of Canada of sexual exploitation and sexual assault. He was sentenced to 18 months to be served in the community. He was also ordered to do 100 hours of community service and to stay away from the victim and her family. The discipline panel also watched 20 minutes of videotaped questioning by the police officer in which the student testified that Gaumond had touched her sexually. The panel found Gaumond guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his teaching certificate. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Mark Harper Kannon A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on July 14, 2003 into allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence against Mark Harper Kannon of Ottawa. Kannon, 35, was certified to teach in 1990 and was a teacher with the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario. Kannon was present at the hearing and was represented by counsel. The allegations of professional misconduct against Kannon included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Education Act, committing acts that would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, engaging in conduct unbecoming a member and displaying a lack of knowledge, skill or judgement that demonstrates that he is either unfit to carry out professional responsibilities or that his certificates should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations. The panel heard evidence that Kannon sent e-mail messages with attachments containing graphic sexual material to at least two male students of the school, aged 15 and 18. Most of the attachments depicted nude women in sexually suggestive poses and at least two depicted nude females engaged in sexual activity with each other. The member also discussed the photographs and pornographic web sites with students, on one occasion offering to forward other photographs to the younger student. Both students forwarded some of the e-mails, with attachments, to other students, one of whom was a 12-year-old elementary student who opened them in the computer lab at his school. The e-mails came to the attention of authorities when a teacher at the elementary school saw the e-mail and attachments on the monitor. An expert witness in the field of forensic psychiatry testified on behalf of Kannon saying that he found no evidence of sexually deviant behaviour in the member and that there was little if any risk that he would engage in similar conduct in the future. The witness testified that he believed Kannon had made an error in judgement. The member also testified saying that he deeply regretted his actions, that sending the messages was "stupid" and that he would not do it again. The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct and ordered Kannon's Certificates of Qualification and Registration suspended for seven months, from May 30, 2003 to December 31, 2003. The member was also ordered to take a course approved by the Registrar, at his own expense, on boundary violations. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Christopher John Hicks A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on September 29, 2003 into allegations of professional misconduct against Christopher John Hicks of Peterborough. Hicks, 32, was certified to teach in 1998 and was employed by a private school. Hicks chose not to attend the hearing but was represented by counsel. The allegations of professional misconduct against Hicks included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Education Act, contravening laws relevant to his suitability to hold a certificate of qualification, contravening a law which caused a student under his professional supervision to be put at risk, committing acts that would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional and engaging in conduct unbecoming a member. The panel heard evidence that during the 1999-2000 school year, Hicks engaged in inappropriate behaviour with a 12-year-old male student, including sexual touching. The panel accepted a memorandum of agreement in which Hicks pleaded guilty to all allegations. The panel ordered Hicks's Certificates of Qualification and Registration revoked. Hicks also undertook not to apply for reinstatement in the College for three years and not to seek or engage in employment where a certificate is required. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register.
|