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HearingsPanels of the Discipline Committee have ordered summaries of recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking. Member: Erinne Renata Acciaroli A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing October 17, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against Erinne Renata Acciaroli, otherwise known as Shlomit Acciaroli. Acciaroli was certified to teach in 1985 and was employed as a learning resource teacher by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing nor was she represented by counsel. Acciaroli faced eight allegations of professional misconduct related to inappropriate conduct with male students. In the absence of the member, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on Acciaroli's behalf. The panel heard that during the 2000–01 school year, Acciaroli was a learning resource centre teacher at a high school. Her role was to support students identified with exceptionalities through the Identification, Placement and Review Committee. A former student at the school where Acciaroli taught testified that he met her outside the school on a number of occasions including at his home and at hers. The student said that on one occasion, when Acciaroli had invited him to her home to learn more about Judaism and Sabbath customs, the member kissed him. Although he stopped her and became upset, she asked him to go to bed with her. The student then left. The student said that, following the incident, he was uncomfortable in Acciaroli's presence in the learning resource centre and called in sick if he thought he couldn't avoid meeting her. The student testified that Acciaroli made many calls to him, which he tried to avoid by checking the call display whenever he could. Acciaroli also came to his home to deliver personal gifts on a number of occasions, some of them accompanied by cards or notes signed “Love Shlomit.” The student told the panel that he felt that his failure to complete his secondary education was a direct result of his interactions with Acciaroli and the anxiety they produced in him. College counsel presented evidence of a number of e-mails from Acciaroli to the student, most of them signed with the member's first name, in which she disclosed personal information about herself, her relationship with her family, employer and friends. Acciaroli also continued to communicate with the student after saying she would not. A superintendent of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board told the panel that attempts to interview Acciaroli about the allegations resulted in one session with the member and her counsel, who ended the meeting. Acciaroli's employment was terminated in January 2004. The panel found that Acciaroli was guilty of professional misconduct in that she violated the boundaries that should exist in the teacher-student relationship and engaged in sexual abuse in kissing the student and inviting him to make love to her. The panel ordered that Acciaroli's Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. In its written reasons, the panel said that Acciaroli had the power to influence the conduct and actions of students and had exercised that power against the best interests of the student. Since Acciaroli did not attend to present a defence, the panel felt it could not determine if she would engage in similar misconduct if placed in a position of trust and authority over other students. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Ronald Wilfred Petro A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing September 21, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against Ronald Wilfred Petro. Petro was certified to teach in 1995 and was employed as a teacher by the Thames Valley District School Board. The member attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. Petro faced two allegations of professional misconduct related to using inappropriate classroom management strategies. The panel received a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in which Petro admitted that during the 2002–03 academic year, he moved the chair of a student who was sitting in the chair at the time, tapped the classroom cupboard and bookshelf using significant force to get students' attention, and walked around the classroom carrying a baseball bat. During the same year, Petro videotaped the class, without their or their parents' permission, to demonstrate to students the disorderly nature of their entry into the room. The panel found that the member was guilty of professional misconduct and accepted the joint submission as to penalty set out in the MOA. The panel ordered Petro to appear before it to be admonished. Within six months, he must complete a course of instruction regarding positive classroom management strategies and provide the Registrar with written proof that he has completed the course. The member's counsel argued against Petro's name being published in the summary of the hearing in Professionally Speaking. The panel concluded that the public interest and the need for general and specific deterrence were best served by publishing the member's name, and there was no compelling reason not to do so. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: John Thomas Price A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing September 28, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against John Thomas Price. Price was certified to teach in 1968 and was employed as principal of the Secondary Renewal and Senior Project Management by the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. Price faced four allegations of professional misconduct related to fraud and bribery. The panel received a memorandum of agreement in which Price admitted that in 1999, he accepted a $30,000 bribe from an individual or company in exchange for providing board business regarding grant money to that individual or company. In 2000, Price accepted $8,745 as a bribe in exchange for facilitating the opportunity to provide services to the board. Price retired from the board in June 2002. In March 2004, he pleaded guilty in criminal court to two counts of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of accepting a secret commission in the amounts of $30,000 and $8,745. Price was sentenced to a conditional sentence of two years less a day. Later that year, he confirmed to the Crown that he had made restitution to the Receiver General of Canada. The panel found Price guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificates of Qualification and Registration. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Lee Thomas Taylor A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing October 3, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against Lee Thomas Taylor. Taylor was certified to teach in 1969 and was employed as a teacher by the Toronto District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. Taylor faced nine allegations of professional misconduct related to sexual abuse of males under the age of 18. The panel received an agreed statement of facts, guilty plea and joint submission on penalty, which stated that Taylor pleaded guilty in June 2005 to eight counts of gross indecency and sexual assault. The charges involved eight males under the age of 18, one of whom was a student at the school where Taylor taught and another a youth that he tutored. The incidents spanned 23 years, occurring between September 1980 and May 2003. Charges laid by the Crown that Taylor had between April and May 2004 accessed child pornography and that he had failed to comply with the condition of an undertaking to keep the peace and be of good behaviour were withdrawn. However, through his counsel Taylor admitted that he had possessed child pornography that depicted young males under 18 years of age engaged in sexual activity with each other. As part of the agreed statement of facts presented to the discipline panel, Taylor also acknowledged that he provided alcohol and pornography to the young males referred to in the criminal charges. The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke Taylor's Certificates of Qualification and Registration. In giving reasons for its decision, the panel said that Taylor clearly exhibited grooming behaviour in providing access to snowmobiles, boats and alcohol and to what some of the boys referred to as a party place for teenagers. This allowed him to initiate a repeated and lengthy pattern of sexual abuse. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Michel (also known as Michael) Aboul Dahab (also known as Abouldahab) A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing November 10, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against Michel Aboul Dahab. Aboul Dahab was certified to teach in 1995 and was employed as a teacher by the Toronto District School Board. The member attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. Aboul Dahab faced six allegations of professional misconduct related to having an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with a student. The panel received a memorandum of agreement in which Aboul Dahab pleaded no contest to the allegations that during the 2000–01 academic year, he engaged in an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with a female secondary student attending his school. They exchanged personal messages via e-mail and met several times outside the school including at a dance club. Aboul Dahab drove the student home from school, took her to lunch on several occasions and took her to his home on more than one occasion. In April 2002, the two entered into a sexual relationship shortly after the student turned 18. The student reported the relationship in May 2002. Aboul Dahab was charged with sexual exploitation and acquitted. The panel accepted Aboul Dahab's plea of no contest to the allegations and found him guilty of professional misconduct. The panel ordered that his Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Philip James Chaddock A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing October 24, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against Philip James Chaddock. Chaddock was certified to teach in 1989. He did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. Chaddock faced eight allegations of professional misconduct related to lying on his registration application for College membership. The panel received an agreed statement of facts and guilty plea in which Chaddock admitted that he had given false information on his 2003 application for membership in the College. Chaddock omitted the information that he had been certified to teach in Texas and that he had been found guilty in 1999 in an Illinois court of sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl, for which he was sentenced to serve three years and six months in prison. In answer to questions about where he had been licensed to teach, where he had taught, whether or not he had ever been the subject of an investigation or disciplinary action or if he had ever been found guilty of a criminal offence, Chaddock failed to include any information about his Texas experience or his Illinois conviction. Chaddock was certified to teach in Texas in September 1993. In 1998, Chaddock made contact from his school computer in Texas with a 14-year-old girl in Illinois via the Internet. Two weeks later, he drove to Illinois to meet her at a motel where he had sex with her. After their encounter, although the girl was in need of medical care, Chaddock dropped her off at a place from which she had to walk home. Evidence at his trial indicated that Chaddock was aware of the girl's age and that she was attending school. Chaddock's Texas teaching certificate was revoked following his criminal conviction for sexual assault of a child. College counsel asked that the panel order that Chaddock's Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked and that a summary of the hearing, with the member's name, be published in Professionally Speaking. The member's counsel argued against publication of Chaddock's name, saying that it would be unfair to him and harmful to his family. In mitigation, Chaddock's counsel said that the member had not forced himself on the girl and that sexual relations with a 14-year-old where there is no teacher-student relationship is not a crime in Canada. Further, the member's counsel argued that Chaddock had served his time and had since rehabilitated himself. The panel found that Chaddock had made false statements on his College application forms and ordered the Registrar to revoke his Certificates of Qualification and Registration and to publish a summary of the hearing with the member's full name. The panel gave a number of facts it considered in making its decision. Chaddock was 39 at the time of the offence and was never in doubt about the victim's age. He asked her to deceive her parents about spending time with him. When he left her to walk home she was bleeding heavily and he made no attempt to get her medical attention. In subsequent telephone conversations and e-mails, he demonstrated concern only for himself. He continued to try to persuade her to meet him again, to lie about being with him and to protect him. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Nancy Ann MacGregor A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on January 13, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against Nancy Ann MacGregor. MacGregor was certified to teach in 1983 and was employed as a teacher by the Simcoe County District School Board. MacGregor did not attend the hearing nor was she represented by counsel. The member faced nine allegations of professional misconduct related to failing to maintain the standards of the profession, such as not marking or returning students' work assignments, failing to adequately supervise students, and engaging in acts that would reasonably be regarded as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional. College counsel advised the panel that the College withdrew allegations of abuse and conduct unbecoming a member. In MacGregor's absence, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf. The panel heard that between September 1999 and April 2002 MacGregor was a probationary teacher with the Simcoe board and that she was on sick leave for much of the time she was employed. When she was present, there were many complaints from students and parents about her failure to mark and return assignments and from colleagues about her unco-operative working relationships. The principal of the first school MacGregor was assigned to – a facility for students with mental health issues where treatment took precedence over educational issues – testified that MacGregor had been responsible for setting back a student's progress by giving the student a heavy assignment in direct contravention of an established treatment plan. The principal of the second high school to which MacGregor was assigned told the panel that the member did not supply appropriate lesson plans during her absences. Many students and parents had complained of the teacher's numerous absences and unmarked assignments and that she distracted students with topics unrelated to the work they were trying to complete. The panel was told that MacGregor displayed a confrontational and antagonistic demeanour towards students, returned students' work only days before the end of the school year, and used the absence reporting system or voice mail in an unprofessional manner. The principal recommended to the school board that MacGregor's probationary contract be terminated. The panel found MacGregor guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that her teaching certificate be suspended for 12 months. MacGregor may not return to teaching until she has been reprimanded and has provided the Registrar with proof that she has successfully completed, at her own expense, a course on curriculum planning and a course on classroom management. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Tracy (also known as Trace) John Lawrence Ouellette A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing November 10, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against Trace John Lawrence Ouellette. Ouellette was certified to teach in 2002 and was employed as a teacher by the Peel District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing but was represented by counsel. Ouellette faced six allegations of professional misconduct related to having a sexual relationship with a female student. The panel received a memorandum of agreement in which Ouellette pleaded no contest to the allegations that during 2003 and 2004, he engaged in a sexual relationship with a female Grade 12 student who was not the member's student but attended the school where he taught. In December 2003, friends of the student reported the relationship to school authorities. In February 2004, the board terminated Ouellette's employment. Ouellette pleaded no contest to the allegations and the panel found him guilty of professional misconduct. The panel ordered that his Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Not Identified A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing November 28, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct and unethical conduct against a member of the College who was employed as a teacher by the Ottawa Board of Education, now known as the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. The member faced allegations of professional misconduct and unethical conduct related to inappropriate behaviour towards a female student. The panel received an agreed statement of facts, plea of no contest and joint submission on penalty in which the member admitted that during the 1980–81 school year, he developed a friendly relationship with a student. When the student moved with her family from Canada, the member continued to communicate with her by letter. Beginning in October 1981, when the student was 16, the member wrote her a number of inappropriate letters, which were presented in evidence. In the letters, the member professed his love for the student and expressed the hope that they would become lovers. The letters continued after the student returned to Canada in the summer of 1982. The member asked the student to meet him at a hotel and when she did not do so, he wrote to express his disappointment. In one letter the member expressed fears that his “letters might surface” and asked the student to burn them. The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct and unethical conduct and ordered that his Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. In its reasons for its decision, the panel noted that the member sought to initiate an inappropriate romantic and sexual relationship with the student and maintained his position of authority over the student by reinforcing their past teacher-student relationship, giving her “fatherly” advice and writing letters on school letterhead. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: John Andrew Larmand A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing December 12, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against John Andrew Larmand. Larmand was certified to teach in 1993 and was employed as a teacher by the Simcoe County District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. Larmand faced seven allegations of professional misconduct related to a criminal conviction on possession of child pornography. In the absence of the member, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on Larmand's behalf. The panel received evidence that on March 24, 2005, Larmand pleaded guilty to charges of possessing child pornography. According to court documents, evidence demonstrated that Larmand downloaded, collected and stored graphic images of child pornography and of child nudity. Larmand was sentenced to three months imprisonment to be served conditionally, followed by 21 months probation. Larmand has not appealed the conviction. The panel found Larmand guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Not Identified A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing November 30, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct and unethical conduct against a member of the College who was employed as a teacher by the Toronto District School Board. The member attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. The member faced allegations of professional misconduct and unethical conduct related to a sexual relationship with a female student. At the outset of the hearing, the member brought a motion to exclude the public from the hearing. The panel granted the motion in order to leave open the option of publishing its decision without the name of the member. The hearing was closed to the public. The panel received an agreed statement of facts, plea of no contest and joint submission on penalty in which the member admitted that beginning in the 1982–83 academic year the member was inappropriate and unprofessional in her interactions with a female student in her Grade 11 class. The member made inappropriate references to sex, invited the student to accompany her and other teachers to go for a beer at a local pub and, during the summer of 1984, kissed the student. During the 1984–85 academic year, the member began a sexual relationship with the student, which continued until December 1986 when it ended at the member's insistence. The agreed statement of facts notes that the member was married a few years later to a man she did not know at the time of her relationship with the student. The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that her Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. It also ordered that a summary of the decision be published in Professionally Speaking without the member's name. In reaching its decision, the panel said it had considered medical documentation that expressed concern about the medical and psychological well being of the member and her family. It also considered the fact that there were no other incidents reported during the member's career, that College counsel did not oppose publication of the findings without the member's name and that the member has retired from the profession. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Not Identified A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing December 14, 2005 into allegations of professional misconduct against a member of the College. The member was employed as a teacher by the Toronto District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. The member faced allegations of professional misconduct and unethical conduct related to his conviction for indecent assault on a Grade 13 student. The panel received an agreed statement of facts in which the member admitted that in March 1996 he was found guilty of indecent assault of a female student and later granted an absolute discharge. The assault took place during June of the 1970–71 academic year. The panel ordered that the member's Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked and that a summary of their decision be published in Professionally Speaking without the member's name. In its written decision, the panel said that it considered two factors in deciding not to order publication of the member's name: He had a long career in which there were no other allegations of professional misconduct and, although found guilty of indecent assault, he was given an absolute discharge and no conviction was entered against him. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Glossary of terminologyThe vocabulary used to report disciplinary hearings reflects their quasi-judicial nature. If you wonder what some terms mean, help is at hand. For past and future reference, the College has posted a glossary of terms on its web site. A link to the glossary can be found on the decision-summary page. |
