Three-member panels of the Discipline Committee conduct public hearings into cases of alleged incompetence or professional misconduct. The panels are a mix of elected and appointed Council members. Members found guilty of incompetence or professional misconduct may have their certificate revoked, suspended or limited. In professional misconduct matters only, the committee may also reprimand, admonish or counsel the member, impose a fine, order the member to pay costs or publish the order in Professionally Speaking.
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.
Also available online are decisions and memorandums of agreement ratified by Investigation Committee panels that explicitly stipulate that documents will be made available through the College’s library or Quicklaw, a legal subscription service, or other means.
Hearings
Member: Jason James FerrisRegistration No: 436464
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel suspended the teaching certificate of Trillium Lakelands DSB teacher Jason James Ferris, and reprimanded him for inappropriate social media communication and contact with students.
Ferris, who was certified to teach in June 2000, attended the January 28, 2013, hearing with his lawyer.
In February 2009, Ferris engaged in a Facebook conversation with a 14-year-old, Grade 8 girl in which he used the word “Fobi” meaning “f--- off bitch.” Ferris also took the student for lunch in his car without seeking permission or having her properly sign out with the school’s office.
During the 2008–09 school year, Ferris used inappropriate dialogue with current and/or former students on Facebook, including: “don’t try to F with my knowledge grasshopper” and “whatever loser.”
The school board reported Ferris to the Family, Youth and Child Services of Muskoka, which said he had exploited his position of trust as a teacher by engaging students socially on Facebook.
Ferris misled school board officials by telling them he had removed all students from his Facebook friends list. He also lied about cellphone conversations he had with students that he said were strictly related to school, but which the board learned were social in nature.
In September 2010, Ferris resigned from the board.
The Discipline Committee panel found Ferris guilty of professional misconduct based on the evidence, a statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest, onus and standard of proof, and legal submissions.
He was ordered to face the panel following the hearing to receive a reprimand. The Discipline Committee panel ordered the Registrar to suspend Ferris’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration for two months beginning on January 28, 2013. As well, Ferris was ordered to complete a pre-approved course at his own expense regarding boundaries and boundary violation issues and report to the Registrar on its successful completion within 30 days of finishing.
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Dustin Phillip Rouse
Registration No: 504142
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Dustin Phillip Rouse, an elementary occasional teacher with the Grand Erie DSB, for using a computer to lure a person under 16 for sexual touching.
Rouse, who was certified to teach in March 2007, represented himself at the January 17, 2013, hearing.
Between November 2007 and May 2009, Rouse invited a student via computer to view his genitals, perform fellatio, have sexual intercourse and discuss topics such as masturbation, orgasm, bondage and/or sado-masochistic fantasies. He arranged two meetings to have a personal and/or sexual relationship with the student, but they did not occur.
In June 2009, the Brant County Ontario Provincial Police charged Rouse with Internet luring of a minor. That August, the school board fired him. In June 2011, Rouse pleaded guilty to luring a child via computer for sexual exploitation and for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence, to wit, invitation to sexual touching. He was sentenced in July 2011 to a one-year conditional sentence, including house arrest for six months and three years’ probation.
The Discipline Committee panel considered the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel and the member, and found Rouse guilty of professional misconduct. The panel ordered the Registrar to revoke Rouse’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
“No member of the profession should be engaged in this type of luring and sexually explicit behaviour with a student,” the panel said in its written decision. “It is particularly unacceptable that the member was a teacher, someone who is entrusted with the protection of children. Children are vulnerable members of society and must be safeguarded against predators who use the Internet to lure them into a situation where they can be sexually exploited and abused.”
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Linda Joyce Larocque
Registration No: 264264
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of seconded Toronto DSB principal Linda Joyce Larocque for fraudulently misappropriating school funds.
Larocque, who was certified to teach in October 1975 and retired in 2008, did not attend the January 25, 2013, hearing and was not represented by legal counsel.
Working as a principal/director of the Bloorview School Authority on secondment from the Toronto DSB, Larocque misappropriated $91,792.75 from the authority between July 2006 and September 2007, according to a Toronto Police Service Financial Crimes Unit audit. Although she retired from the authority in August 2007, Larocque stayed on as a consultant.
She was charged with fraud over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime. In May 2012, she pleaded guilty to the fraud charge and repaid the $91,792.75 in full. The laundering charge was withdrawn. She also received a conditional sentence of 21 months followed by a year of probation and 200 hours of community service.
Having examined the evidence and based on a memorandum of agreement (MOA), a guilty plea, a joint submission on resolution, and the submissions of College counsel, the Discipline Committee ratified the MOA and found Larocque guilty of professional misconduct. The panel directed the Registrar to revoke Larocque’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
In its written decision, the panel said that while students were not directly involved in Larocque’s misconduct, her actions were “significant enough to cause the school financial challenges and could have seriously impacted the school’s ability to provide quality education for the students.
“[Larocque’s] actions were a serious breach of trust and brought the reputation of the profession into disrepute.”
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: John Andreacchi, OCT
Registration No: 434584
Decision: Reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded Peel DSB special education teacher John Andreacchi for assaulting a female.
Andreacchi, who was certified to teach in June 2000, attended the January 30, 2013, hearing with his lawyer.
Halton Regional Police charged Andreacchi in September 2008 with assault after a female reported that he grabbed her by her wrists and crossed her arms across her neck in an arm hold, causing her to gasp for air. Following a jury trial, he was found guilty of assault and granted a conditional discharge, 12 months’ probation, ordered to pay a $100 fine and perform 60 hours of community service work. He was also ordered to seek assessment and counselling and was prohibited from associating or communicating with the woman except through legal counsel.
Having been assigned to home with full pay and benefits following the arrest, Andreacchi returned to teach in June 2009. He continues to work for the board.
The Discipline Committee panel found Andreacchi guilty of professional misconduct based on the evidence, an agreed statement of facts, a guilty plea, onus and standard of proof, and legal submissions.
He was ordered to face the panel following the hearing to receive a reprimand. As well, he was ordered to complete courses at his own expense in stress and anger management delivered by a counsellor pre-approved by the Registrar. Within 30 days of completion of the courses, Andreacchi shall deliver directly to the Registrar a written certificate from the course provider stating that he has received a copy of the agreed statement of facts and guilty plea marked as an exhibit at the hearing, and a copy of the decision and reasons of the Discipline Committee, and that he (Andreacchi) has successfully completed the course.
The Discipline Committee panel found that the matter was dealt with effectively and appropriately by the criminal courts and that the reprimand and terms, conditions and limitations on Andreacchi’s certificate “appropriately reflect the gravity of the criminal conviction.”
The panel also considered that it was Andreacchi’s first offence, that he sought counselling and completed anger management training, and that he returned to teaching.
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Marion Ruth Templeton
Registration No: 488342
Decision: Reprimand
A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded Simcoe County DSB teacher Marion Ruth Templeton for forcing a chair from under a student causing him to fall and sprain his wrist.
Templeton, who was certified to teach in June 2005, attended the January 25, 2013, hearing with her lawyer.
In November 2010, a student was balancing on a chair on its front legs when, without warning, Templeton came from behind and applied “inappropriate force” to the chair. This caused the student to fall and injure his wrist. As a result, the student had to wear a brace for several weeks afterwards.
The teacher had previously warned students about the hazards of balancing on their chairs. She apologized to the student, said she never intended him to fall, and reported the incident to the school principal. The Children’s Aid Society investigated and verified that the student suffered physical harm as a result of Templeton’s actions.
Following board attempts to discipline, which she grieved and got overturned, Templeton completed a 36-hour course in classroom management on her own initiative.
The Discipline Committee found Templeton guilty of professional misconduct based on a memorandum of agreement (MOA), a guilty plea and submissions from legal counsel. She faced the Discipline Committee panel immediately after the hearing for a reprimand and was ordered to provide the College’s Registrar with written confirmation of the completion of the classroom management and boundaries course within 30 days of the MOA being ratified.
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Lawrence Edgar Keyte
Registration No: 285939
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded and suspended Ottawa-Carleton DSB teacher Lawrence Edgar Keyte for sending inappropriate email communications to a female student.
Keyte, who was certified to teach in April 1998, attended the February 27, 2013, hearing with legal counsel.
The Discipline Committee panel heard evidence that Keyte began a series of email exchanges of a “flirtatious nature” with the student after she sent him a photo of her kissing another girl. Emails between the teacher and student were sent once or twice a month over four months. In one, the girl sent a black-and-white photo of herself covered with bubbles in a bathtub. Keyte did nothing to discourage the student from forwarding such photos or from communicating with him this way.
The girl’s boyfriend discovered one of the emails between the teacher and student and reported it to the school’s vice-principal. Even so, Keyte created a Gmail account to continue communicating with the girl without using his board-issued email account. Furthermore, he gave her specific instructions about how they could continue to talk in the wake of the boyfriend’s disclosure.
However, the girl said she began to feel “uncomfortable and gross” about the correspondence after a while and stopped attending school in April 2008, for unrelated reasons, never to return or graduate. In an email sent to apologize for any role his actions might have played in her decision to quit school, Keyte said, “as fun as it was, it was crazy of me to be flirting with a student and to put your sense of ease at school in jeopardy, and to put everything I have at risk. I take total responsibility for it all.”
Keyte resigned from the board in October 2011.
The Discipline Committee found Keyte guilty of professional misconduct based on a statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest and submissions from legal counsel. He was ordered to face the panel immediately after the hearing for a reprimand and also had his teaching certificate suspended for two years from the date of the hearing.
Keyte was also ordered to take a course on appropriate boundaries and boundary violation issues at his own expense and notify the Registrar within 30 days of its successful completion.
In its written decision, the Discipline Committee panel said that the member was fully aware of his inappropriate conduct, counselled the student not to speak to anyone about their relationship, and took steps to conceal their correspondence. Further, the panel said that, although there was no evidence of a physical relationship or grooming behaviour, “conduct of this nature cannot be tolerated.”
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Thomas Adrian Foster
Registration No: 437682
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel suspended former Toronto DSB teacher Thomas Adrian Foster for three months and ordered him to face a reprimand for inappropriately disciplining students.
Foster, who was certified to teach in August 2000, represented himself at the March 18, 2013, hearing.
On several occasions during the 2003–04 school year, Foster held students who had been talking or roughhousing upside down by their feet. He “squished” one student between his arms and carried him, feet off the floor, into the hallway. Another time, he lifted a student over his shoulder and spun him around.
The board suspended Foster for 10 days in April 2004 without pay for eight incidents of physically mistreating male students.
Then, between September 2004 and August 2006, while teaching at another school, Foster told students about staff room discussions in which staff members openly spoke about losing their virginity. He shared confidential student information with a parent, told students to shut up, referred to one student as a “moron,” threw erasers at students to get their attention, pulled chairs out from under male students, and sounded a whistle in class to gain students’ attention. Consequently, the board suspended him without pay for two days in April 2006 and then fired him that August.
Based on the evidence, the statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty, and the submissions of Foster and legal counsel for the College, the Discipline Committee panel found Foster guilty of professional misconduct.
The panel ordered the Registrar to suspend Foster’s teaching certificate for three months and ordered him to face the panel after the hearing to be reprimanded. The panel also made it a condition of Foster’s return to teaching that he successfully complete a course on anger management, classroom management and effective student discipline at his own expense and report back to the Registrar within 30 days of having completed the course.
In its written decision, the Discipline Committee panel noted that, although he had been suspended by his employer previously and had taken a course called “Planning and Professionalism, which included classroom management and professionalism, Foster “continued to physically and verbally abuse students. Further, the member was terminated from his employment in August 2006 for cause.”
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Christopher Paul McLister
Registration No: 423036
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Lambton Kent DSB teacher Christopher Paul McLister for engaging in a sexual relationship with a female student.
McLister, who was certified to teach in February 1999, did not attend the January 31, 2013, hearing, but was represented by his lawyer.
In March 2008, McLister began a relationship with the student that included communicating via Facebook, sending personal emails and texts, attending the student’s workplace and texting her there repeatedly, inviting her to his apartment and engaging in sexual intercourse.
In October 2008, he was arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of touching for a sexual purpose while being in a position of trust or authority. He was released on conditions of release and recognizance with orders to abstain from communicating or associating with the student. But in January 2009, he was arrested and charged with breaching those terms for calls and texts he made to the student between October 2008 and January 3, 2009.
McLister pleaded to and was found guilty of touching the body of the student for a sexual purpose while in a position of trust or authority toward her in October 2010. The following August, he was sentenced to seven months in jail for the sexual exploitation and 10 days for breach of his conditions of release and recognizance.
He was fired by the board in November 2008.
Having considered the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of legal counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found McLister guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
In its written decision, the panel said it found McLister’s conduct and its repetitive nature “abhorrent.”
“The member’s conduct has brought the profession into disrepute,” the panel said. “[He] abused the authority and trust vested in him in his role as a teacher to take advantage of and engage in the sexual abuse of a student.”
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Daniel Richard Thibault
Registration No: 519821
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
Former DSB of Niagara teacher Daniel Richard Thibault has had his teaching certificate suspended for three months for conduct related to a criminal charge for loitering/prowling, which was later withdrawn.
A student neighbour of Thibault’s told police in May 2009 that she was watching television with her boyfriend when she heard leaves rustling outside her partially opened bedroom window. When she turned out the lights and looked outside, she saw a naked male running away from the house. The student called the police and was in the process of making a statement to the investigating officer when Thibault appeared, naked, around the corner of his house. The officer chased and apprehended him.
In his defence, Thibault said he was in his backyard hot tub when he heard a commotion on the neighbouring property and went to investigate. He said he failed to grab a towel or clothes. On turning the corner of the house, a police officer yelled at him. Startled, he ran back to his hot tub, where he was arrested.
Niagara Regional Police charged Thibault with “loiter/prowl at night on other person’s property.” In August 2009, the charge was withdrawn and Thibault entered into a 12-month peace bond in which he was ordered not to communicate directly or indirectly with the student.
In September 2009, the Niagara board fired him and he has not worked as a teacher since.
In a March 19, 2013, public hearing, a Discipline Committee panel found Thibault guilty of professional misconduct based on the evidence, the statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty and lawyers’ submissions.
Thibault, who was certified to teach in April 2007, did not attend the hearing, but was represented by legal counsel.
The panel ordered the Registrar to suspend Thibault’s teaching certificate for three months and ordered the member to face the panel to be reprimanded. Prior to his return to teaching, Thibault must provide the Registrar with a doctor’s certificate to approve his return to classroom duties without any undue risk of harm or injury to students or the school community no earlier than 60 days before the intended date of return to work. As well, Thibault must successfully complete a course at his own expense in the ethical responsibilities of teachers.
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Terry (Terence) Paul Baytor
Registration No: 156980
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Terry (Terence) Paul Baytor, a former principal with the Toronto DSB, for a criminal conviction for theft.
Certified in May 1976, Baytor did not attend the March 26, 2013, hearing, nor was he represented by a lawyer.
Between January 2005 and December 2009, Baytor wrote himself cheques totalling $16,000 from a non-public school account that contained funds from various sources including school fundraising activities and vending machine funds. During that same period, he made only partial deposits into the account, leaving an additional $72,500 unaccounted for.
On October 11, 2011, Baytor agreed to repay the board $58,400, in complete satisfaction of all amounts misappropriated, mismanaged or otherwise misused by him.
On November 22, 2011, Baytor pled guilty to theft over $5,000 and was given a conditional sentence for a period of 18 months. He was ordered to be under house arrest for the first 12 months, followed by six months of abiding by a curfew. He was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.
Having considered the evidence, a memorandum of agreement, a guilty plea and College counsel submissions, the panel found Baytor guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the Registrar to revoke his certificate.
“The member’s actions were a serious breach of trust and brought the reputation of the profession into disrepute,” the panel said.
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
Member: Yves Joly
Registration No: 417765
Decision: Reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel found that Yves Joly, a teacher in the Conseil scolaire de district Centre-Sud-Ouest (Conseil scolaire Viamonde), was guilty of professional misconduct for engaging repeatedly in inappropriate conduct mostly relating to the supervision of students and ensuring their safety.
Joly was certified to teach in August 1998. He was not present at the hearing on March 25, 2013, but was represented by counsel.
During the 2008–2009 school year, Joly was late without cause more than once, used inappropriate vocabulary in front of students, and failed to meet deadlines relating to report cards and weekly planning.
The panel also heard evidence that Joly prepared report cards during a teaching period with students and left his classroom for a short period, leaving his Grade 5 students unsupervised.
Having considered the evidence, the agreed statement of facts, the guilty plea and the submissions of counsel, the panel found Joly guilty of professional misconduct. He was ordered to face the panel for a reprimand.
He was also ordered to enrol at his own expense within one year of the order in a course on lesson planning, classroom management, student assessment and evaluation and record-keeping.
Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.
