Discipline Panel Decisions Panels of the Discipline Committee ordered the summaries of recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking. Member:
John Timothy McLeod A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing on October 16, 2000 into allegations of professional misconduct against John Timothy McLeod, 53, of London. McLeod was certified to teach in 1971 and was employed as a teacher by the Board of Education for the City of London, now the Thames Valley District School Board. He chose not to attend or be represented at the hearing. The allegations of professional misconduct against McLeod included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing students physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Education Act, contravening laws that are relevant to his suitability to hold Certificates of Qualification and Registration, committing acts that would be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, engaging in conduct unbecoming a member and displaying a lack of knowledge, skill or judgement or a disregard for the welfare of students. Two male victims told the panel about being sexually assaulted by McLeod on and off school premises, including at the teacher’s cottage. The victims were students at the elementary school where McLeod taught. The victims also testified that the member provided them with alcohol. The panel also heard testimony that a school principal expressed concerns about McLeod’s behaviour in 1994 and required him to cancel plans to take two teenagers to his cottage during the summer. Another letter dated April 1995 also warned McLeod about inappropriate behaviour in the classroom. In October 1998, McLeod was charged with seven counts of indecent assault, gross indecency, sexual exploitation and sexual assault under the Criminal Code. He pleaded guilty in July 1999 to two charges of indecent assault of two male victims. The remaining charges were withdrawn. McLeod was sentenced to three months imprisonment and a 15-month conditional sentence as well as three years of probation. The conditional sentence included an order that he is not to associate or be involved in any communication directly or indirectly with any male persons under the age of 18 unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. McLeod indicated in a letter in April 1999 that he would retire from his position as a teacher at the end of June of the same year. He also entered a statement of facts and guilty plea at the College’s hearing. The panel found McLeod guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Qualification and Registration revoked immediately. The decision of the panel appears on the College’s public register. Member:
D. J. A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing on September 27 into allegations of professional misconduct against D. J., 57, of Kingston. D.J. was certified to teach in 1971. D.J. attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. The panel heard evidence of disciplinary procedures undertaken in Quebec into allegations of incompetence and professional misconduct against D.J. A Committee of Inquiry created by the Quebec Minister of Education heard 59 witnesses concerning 21 complaints ranging from verbal abuse to emotional and physical abuse. The Quebec panel ordered that the member’s certificate be restricted to teaching at the high school level or to adults in Quebec. The panel heard evidence of D.J. grabbing students by the neck and lifting them, scratching them and dragging them. D.J. also called students cretin, idiot and simpleton and suggested to a guidance counsellor that testing children with attention deficit was a waste of time. He also resorted to unusual and inappropriate disciplinary measures like leaving a student in a garage without windows, not allowing rest periods and having a Kindergarten student write out the alphabet from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. because she was having difficulties. The panel also received a joint submission signed by counsel for the member and the College. The panel decided that the best interests of the public were served by accepting the joint submission and ordered that the member’s Certificates of Qualification and Registration be restricted to teaching at the secondary level, starting at Grade 9, up to and including adult students. Pursuant to Section 30(5) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, the panel ordered publication of the decision without the name of the member in Professionally Speaking. The decision of the panel to impose conditions on the member’s certificates will appear on the College’s public register. Member:
Joseph Charles C. Poulin A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing on December 14 into allegations of professional misconduct against Joseph Charles C. Poulin, 60, of London. Poulin was certified to teach in 1974 and was employed as a teacher by the Avon Maitland School Board. He chose not to attend or be represented at the hearing. The allegations of professional misconduct against Poulin included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing students physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Education Act, contravening laws that are relevant to his suitability to hold Certificates of Qualification and Registration, committing acts that would be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, engaging in conduct unbecoming a member and displaying a lack of knowledge, skill or judgement or a disregard for the welfare of students. The panel heard testimony that Poulin had behaved inappropriately with students on numerous occasions, offering them gifts and money, trying to kiss them and making inappropriate comments like "I can see all of you. You should wear it more often" concerning a student wearing a T-shirt. He also offered to pay one student to have sex with him on a regular basis. These incidents were in violation of a one-year probation order under which Poulin was placed following his conditional discharge in July 1997 on a charge of indecent assault on another female. He was also found guilty of sexual assaults on two female students and sentenced to six months imprisonment to be served in the community. The panel accepted a joint submission on the facts of the case and ordered immediate revocation of the member’s Certificates of Qualification and Registration. The decision of the panel will appear on the College’s public register Member:
Peter Lawrence Morgan A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing on December 14 into allegations of professional misconduct against Peter Lawrence Morgan, 36, of Etobicoke, who is now living in Kiev, Ukraine. Morgan received an interim teaching certificate in 1991, which expired in 1997. He was employed as a teacher at Hillfield Strathallan College, a private school in Hamilton. Morgan attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. The allegations of professional misconduct against Morgan included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing students physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, failing to comply with the Education Act, committing acts that would be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, engaging in conduct unbecoming a member. The panel heard evidence that the head of senior school warned Morgan on a number of occasions in 1996 and 1997 of inappropriate behaviour with students. The head of senior school spoke to Morgan about allegations that he was marking female students more generously and that he seemed overly familiar with female students. In February 1997, the head of the school spoke to Morgan about his relationship with a particular student and advised of the inappropriateness of his behaviour. Morgan had developed a sexual relationship with the student and exchanged explicit electronic messages with her, using the school’s computer system. Morgan resigned from his position on May 6, 1997, the day after the school recovered inappropriate electronic messages from the school’s network. The panel accepted an agreed statement of facts and found Morgan guilty of professional misconduct on two counts – abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally and committing an act that would be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional. The panel also accepted the $5,000 fine included in the agreed statement of facts presented to the panel. The fine is to be paid to the provincial Minister of Finance. This case marks the first time a panel has imposed a fine on a member found guilty of professional misconduct. Morgan, who no longer holds a valid Ontario teaching certificate, appeared before the panel on December 14 to be reprimanded for his behaviour. The decision of the panel will appear on the College’s public register.
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