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.
If found guilty of professional misconduct or incompetence, a member’s certificates may be revoked, suspended or limited. In cases of professional misconduct only, the committee may also reprimand, admonish or counsel the member, impose a fine, publish its order in Professionally Speaking, or order the member to pay costs.
Panels of the Discipline Committee have ordered summaries of these recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking. Copies of full decisions are available through library@oct.ca. Hearings regarding incapacity are closed.
Hearings
Member: James Hugh Westcott
Registration number: 217037
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of retired Ottawa Catholic DSB elementary teacher James Hugh Westcott for exposing himself to a young girl and allowing her to touch his penis.
Westcott joined the teaching profession in June 1970 and retired from it in June 1998. He was not present or represented at the September 28, 2010 hearing.
The panel heard evidence that Westcott pleaded guilty to a charge of inviting a person under the age of 16 to touch his body for a sexual purpose. He was subsequently sentenced, in July 2010, to eight months in jail followed by two years probation. Further, Westcott was banned from working, volunteering or attending public places where children under 16 might be present. The ban takes effect on his release from jail and lasts for 15 years.
Having heard the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel, the panel found Westcott guilty of professional misconduct.
“The serious nature of the criminal conviction against [Westcott] requires that his Certificate of Qualification and Registration be revoked to ensure that he does not have an opportunity to take advantage of children,” the panel wrote in its decision.
“The committee finds the member’s conduct is disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional and is conduct unbecoming a member of the profession. The member, as a result of his actions, has breached the public trust and forfeited the privilege of holding a teaching certificate. Revocation demonstrates that [his] conduct is unacceptable to the profession and to the public whose interests the committee is bound to serve.”
The decision appears on the College’s public register.
Member: Not identified
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel directed the Registrar to revoke a member’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration for sexually assaulting a student.
The member did not attend the hearings held on November 2, 2009 and June 8, 2010, nor was he represented by legal counsel.
Having examined the exhibits and evidence filed and reviewed submissions made by counsel for the College, the panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct.
The panel heard evidence that the member exchanged e-mail of a sexual nature with the victim and touched her for a sexual purpose during the 2007–08 school year, and that the member entered a plea of guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of the student before the criminal court.
In July 2009 the member was sentenced to 12 months of incarceration, followed by three years of probation. The court further ordered him to refrain from any contact with the victim or members of her family and not to come within 300 metres of the victim’s residence or place of work.
In view of the nature and circumstances of the case, the panel intended to publish the name of the member but was prohibited from revealing it by an order restricting publication made by the Ontario Court of Justice and upheld by the panel.
In its decision, the panel wrote, “Neither the teaching profession nor the public accepts or tolerates the sexual exploitation of a student by a member of the teaching profession.”
Member: David Andrew Carswell
Registration number: 168419
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Simcoe County DSB teacher David Andrew Carswell because of his criminal conviction for the possession of child pornography.
Carswell joined the teaching profession in June 1978. Neither he nor his legal counsel attended the October 25, 2010 hearing.
The panel heard evidence that Carswell kept 13 images of child pornography in his temporary Internet file, and one live stored image. He admitted to police that he bought the images.
In September 2009 Carswell was sentenced to six months to be served at home, followed by two years probation. The court also ordered him to complete 160 hours of community service and to avoid children under 16 unless he was supervised.
Having heard the evidence, the Discipline Committee panel found Carswell guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the Registrar to revoke his certificate.
“A member who has been convicted of possession of child pornography and who is subject to conditions which do not allow him to be in the company of children under the age of 16 years is not suitable to be in a position of trust and authority over children and must not be permitted to teach,” the panel’s written decision says.
“Child pornography is one of the most serious crimes in our society,” the decision states. “The public must be informed that a member of the teaching profession who engages in this type of activity will suffer the most serious consequences.”
A notation regarding the revocation appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca.
Member: Thomas Frederick Tollett
Registration number: 142734
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB occasional teacher Thomas Frederick Tollett after his criminal conviction for attempted murder and assault.
Tollett joined the teaching profession in June 1971 and was fired from the board in September 2009. He did not appear at the October 27, 2010 hearing nor have legal representation there.
The panel heard evidence that in August 2009 Tollett attacked an acquaintance in his home, first striking him on the head with a ceramic decoration, then punching and wrestling with him, pulling out a steak knife and stabbing the man in the throat. Tollett then followed the man to a neighbour’s home and continued the attack.
When the elderly neighbour tried to call 911, Tollett grabbed the phone and struck her with it and slapped the glasses off her face. Then he grabbed a 24-inch paddle from the kitchen wall and struck the woman over the head. Tollett turned his attack on the woman’s husband when he entered the room, striking him on the head with the paddle with enough force to break it. Tollett then tried to stab the woman with the broken paddle.
Tollett pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a weapon and was found guilty on those charges. In January 2010 he was sentenced to two years less a day in provincial jail followed by three years probation, including anger management and counselling.
Having heard the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel, the College’s Discipline Committee panel found Tollett guilty of professional misconduct.
“The member’s actions were brutal, unprovoked and extremely serious,” the panel’s decision said. “The gravity of the member’s offence, the persistence that he demonstrated, the number of victims, the location of the offences are aggravating features.
“Given the member’s actions, he cannot be placed in a position of trust or authority,” the panel ruled. “His unpredictable behaviour could endanger the safety of students and staff as well as the public at large. Therefore, revocation of the member’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration is the only recourse to protect the public.”
A notation regarding the revocation appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca.
Member: Gordon Charles Baxter
Registration number: 139702
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Niagara Catholic DSB teacher Gordon Charles Baxter for engaging in a sexual relationship with a female student.
Baxter joined the teaching profession in June 1977. He did not attend the November 3, 2010 hearing nor have legal representation there.
The panel heard evidence that Baxter befriended a Grade 10 female student whom he coached and tutored. In the summer of 2008, he communicated with the student by e-mail, MSN chats and telephone.
During the girl’s Grade 11 year, the two became close friends. Baxter kept up his telephone and electronic communications, disclosing personal information and flirting. He also hugged the student in his school portable more than once and spent time with her during school hours and at his home.
After turning 17, the student developed a crush on Baxter. She told him she liked him, and he reciprocated those feelings. In February 2009 Baxter invited the girl to watch football’s Super Bowl at his home, whereupon he kissed and cuddled her. Between February and April that year, the two engaged in a sexual relationship that involved kissing, cuddling, hugging, and her performing fellatio on him. They did not engage in sexual intercourse, nor did any sexual activity occur at the school.
In June 2009 Baxter resigned from the board. That same month he pleaded guilty to a charge of being a person in a position of trust and authority toward a young person and touching that person with a part of his body for a sexual purpose. He received an intermittent 14-day jail sentence, followed by a one-year probation.
Having considered the evidence, the Discipline Committee panel found Baxter guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the Registrar to revoke his certificate.
“The committee finds the member engaged in an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with the student while she was under his care and supervision,” the panel’s written decision says. “He did not discourage, but rather allowed the relationship to go beyond the appropriate teacher/student boundary, progressing to sexual activity.”
The committee said that it found Baxter’s conduct “disgraceful” and that he abused the authority and trust vested in him in his role as a teacher, without regard for the well-being of the student.
“Revocation is the appropriate penalty for misconduct of this severity,” the Discipline Committee panel said.
A notation regarding the revocation appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca.
Member: Greg James Stewart
Registration number: 245297
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Thames Valley DSB teacher Greg James Stewart for harassing and sexually assaulting a female student, for which he was criminally convicted.
Stewart, who joined the teaching profession in June 1978, did not attend the November 2, 2010 hearing nor did he have legal representation there on his behalf.
The panel heard evidence that between December 2008 and March 2009 Stewart fondled the breasts of a Grade 8 girl, spoke to her about masturbation and instructed her to view specific web sites to learn about it, and pushed his body against her. He pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault and was sentenced to six months in jail followed by a year’s probation.
Having considered the evidence, the Discipline Committee panel found Stewart guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the Registrar to revoke his certificate. “The member stalked a female student in his classroom and in the school, and pestered her with unsolicited sexual advice and sexual questioning that he had no business engaging in,” the panel said. “The student resisted his advances, but in spite of that, the member persisted. The member’s actions became increasingly physical and ended with an incident of sexual abuse.
“His behaviour was dangerous, despicable and totally outside the realm of civilized behaviour,” the panel said. “The member, by his actions, has forfeited the privilege of being in the profession, and therefore revocation of his certificate is the only consequence possible.”
A notation regarding the revocation appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca.
Glossary of terms
The vocabulary used to report disciplinary hearings reflects their quasi-judicial nature. For a glossary of terms, visit www.oct.ca.
