Discipline Panel Decisions

Panels of the Discipline Committee ordered the summaries of six recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking.

Member: John David Elliott
Decision: Certificates of Registration and Qualification Revoked

A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing May 8 into allegations of professional misconduct against John David Elliott of Brantford. Elliot, 58, was certified to teach in 1962 and is a former teacher for the Grand Erie District School Board, formerly the Brant County Board of Education. He chose not to attend the hearing and was not represented.

The allegations of professional misconduct against Elliott include failing to maintain the standards of the profession, failing to comply with the Education Act, contravening a law that is relevant to his suitability to hold a Certificate of Qualification and Registration, committing acts that would be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional and engaging in conduct unbecoming a member.

The panel received evidence that Elliott committed indecent assaults on a young male from October 1958 to October 1960 when he was a teacher in training. In July or August 1997, he took a 14-year old male to his house and invited the teenager to have sex with him. The panel also heard that on March 16, 1998 or about that time, Elliott invited two male students – aged 13 and 14 years old – to his home where he showed them pornographic movies and fondled them.

In December 1998, Elliott was convicted of one count of indecent assault, one count of sexual touching of a person under the age of 14 and one count of sexual exploitation of a young person. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and three years probation.

The panel found Elliott guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Registration and Qualification revoked immediately. The decision of the panel will appear on the College’s public register.

Member: John Paul Nugent
Decision: Certificates of Registration and Qualification Revoked

A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on May 8 into allegations of professional misconduct against John Paul Nugent of Sioux Lookout. Nugent, 50, was a principal for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and was certified to teach in 1974 in New Brunswick. He chose not to attend the disciplinary hearing and was not represented.

The allegations of professional misconduct against Nugent include failing to comply with the Education Act, contravening laws relevant to the member’s suitability to hold a Certificate of Qualification and Registration, committing acts that would be regarded by other members as disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional and engaging in conduct unbecoming a member.

The panel heard evidence that on the eve of March break 1999, Nugent informed the school secretary that he had the board’s permission to take a leave of absence. Around that time, he removed equipment – a colour printer, a laptop computer and a camcorder – from the school premises and used the school board’s VISA card for unauthorized personal purchases.

Nugent failed to return to his duties following March break or to provide any information about his continued absence.

Nugent’s board superintendent testified that he had at no time been given permission for an extended absence. He also testified that the board’s credit card had been used to its maximum and that equipment and purchase orders had been taken without authorization.

Nugent was charged in absentia on June 24, 1999 with four counts of fraud under $5,000 and six counts of theft under $5,000. The charges remain outstanding and Canada-wide search warrants have been issued for Nugent’s arrest.

The medical condition and the whereabouts of Nugent could not be confirmed.

The panel found Nugent guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Qualification and Registration revoked immediately. The decision of the panel will appear on the College’s public register.

Member: Joseph Henri Lamerise
Decision: Certificates of Registration and Qualification Revoked

A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing May 24 into allegations of professional misconduct against Joseph Henri Lamerise of Amos, Québec. Lamerise, 37, was certified to teach in 1988 and is a former teacher for a Northern Ontario school board. He chose not to attend the hearing and was not represented.

The allegations of professional misconduct against Lamerise include failing to maintain the standards of the profession, failing to comply with the Education Act, contravening a law that is relevant to his suitability to hold a Certificate of Qualification and Registration, committing acts that would be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonorable and unprofessional and engaging in conduct unbecoming a member.

The discipline panel received evidence that between January 1, 1994 and August 1996, Lamerise invited a former male student to his home and committed an indecent assault on the student. The panel also heard that for a period of two weeks in 1996, the student lived at the teacher’s residence after his parents’ separation and was shown pornographic movies and incited to take part in sexual acts with the teacher.

On June 10, 1997, Lamerise was arrested and charged with sexual assault and committing an indecent act. While on bail, he was ordered not to be in the company of any child under the age of 18, unless in the presence of a responsible adult. Lamerise breached his bail conditions on two occasions and was sentenced to 90 days imprisonment the second time he was charged for breach of his bail conditions.

On August 5, 1998, Lamerise pleaded guilty to the charge of committing an indecent act and sentenced to 18 months’ probation. He was dismissed from his teaching duties by the school board in September 1998.

The panel found Lamerise guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Registration and Qualification revoked immediately. The decision of the panel will appear on the College’s public register.

Member: Francesco (Frank) Zavarella
Decision: Certificates of Registration and Qualification Revoked

A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing May 25 into allegations of professional misconduct against Francesco (Frank) Zavarella of Hamilton. Zavarella, 52, was certified to teach in 1976 and is a former occasional teacher for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (formerly the Hamilton Board of Education). Zavarella attended the hearing and chose to represent himself.

The panel heard evidence that Zavarella was convicted of possession of illegal drugs for the purposes of trafficking and sentenced to one year of imprisonment in 1976. In 1979, he was convicted of importing illegal drugs and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. In 1990, Zavarella was convicted of fraud against his employers and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. He was convicted for impaired driving in 1995, fined $500 and banned from driving for one year. In 1998, he was convicted of conspiracy to counterfeit government of Canada bonds and sentenced to two years and nine months’ imprisonment.

In his testimony, Zavarella admitted to all of his illegal activities except for the 1998 conviction of conspiracy to counterfeit money. He stated that he did not lie about his criminal record when he applied for a teaching position as he was not asked about it – the school board has a criminal record check policy for new hires since 1996. He also stated that the one trust he never violated was the trust he had with students, parents, the school board and his colleagues.

The panel found Zavarella guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Registration and Qualification revoked immediately. The decision of the panel will appear on the College’s public register.

Member: Name Withheld
Decision: Permanent Stay of Charges with Conditions

A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee heard a charge of professional misconduct in June against a College member who was alleged to have used a school computer network to access inappropriate material on the Internet.

A permanent stay was granted on the condition the teacher reports to the Registrar upon successful completion of a half-day sensitivity training program and files with the Registrar a copy of his current personnel file and that existent on June 15, 2001 and June 15, 2002.

In granting the stay, the panel is in no way condoning the member’s actions in accessing inappropriate materials through the school’s network. However, the panel noted that the teacher’s use of the Internet happened outside school hours and involved no students.

The panel did indicate its concern that the profession be aware of the risks of accessing inappropriate materials on the Internet and its further concern that school boards should ensure that appropriate policies for Internet use are in place for all employees and students.

Member: Claudio Squillaro
Decision: Certificates of Registration and Qualification Revoked

A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee held a public hearing into allegations of professional misconduct against Claudio Squillaro of Aurora. The hearing was conducted in a number of sessions from April 1999 to June 2000. Squillaro, 33, was certified to teach in 1992 and is a former teacher for the York Region Roman Catholic Separate School Board, now the York Catholic District School Board. He attended the hearing sessions and was represented by counsel.

The allegations of professional misconduct against Squillaro included failing to maintain the standards of the profession, abusing a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally, committing acts that would be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional and engaging in conduct unbecoming a member.

The panel heard evidence that Squillaro engaged in an inappropriate relationship with one of his students with whom he exchanged numerous love letters and gifts. He also phoned and paged the student on numerous occasions – despite the parents’ request that he stop – often in the early hours of the morning.

On several occasions, the parents requested the teacher put an end to the relationship. He ignored these repeated requests and tried to conceal the continuation of the relationship by using codes and a notebook to avoid detection. Letters were also taped to the underside of a neighbourhood playground slide for the student to retrieve.

The panel also heard evidence of Squillaro lying about the school soccer team winning a tournament championship. He also encouraged the students to lie about winning the championship. The principal discovered the lie when he received a phone call from another school principal complaining that Squillaro had verbally assaulted the student referee when the school’s team lost.

Squillaro’s resume stated that he was on the school’s crisis committee from 1994-1997, which he was not. He lied to a colleague whose support he requested for a job reference, misrepresenting the reason the student had been removed from his classroom and stating that he had resigned from the board when in fact he had been suspended.

The panel found Squillaro guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Registration and Qualification revoked immediately. He was found guilty of all allegations except the charge that he abused a student physically, sexually, verbally, psychologically or emotionally. The decision of the panel will appear on the College’s public register.

Connecticut Uses College Evidence to Revoke Teacher’s Licence

The Connecticut State Board of Education has revoked the teaching certificate of former Ontario teacher Donald Bruce Winton. The Connecticut board relied on College evidence to revoke Winton’s certificate in June. The College’s proceedings are similar to those used in administrative hearings in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Education Department’s Bureau of Certification and Teacher Preparation requested the revocation of Winton’s certificate after finding out about the College’s proceedings from the international database of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification. The database lists disciplinary action against teachers and is used by school authorities around the world.

A panel of the College’s Discipline Committee revoked Winton’s Certificates of Qualification and Registration in March 1999 following a disciplinary hearing. The College’s discipline panel heard evidence that in 1983 and 1984, Winton invited students – some in his special education classes – to his home where he served alcohol, showed pornographic films and engaged in a variety of sex acts.

Court Upholds College Registration Appeals Committee

The Ontario Divisional Court refused to permit an appeal of a decision of the Registration Appeals Committee to proceed in the first-ever legal challenge of a decision.

In June, the Divisional Court judge noted in dismissing the motion that the issues raised by the appellant relate to matters squarely within the expertise of the College’s Registration Appeals Committee.

Rodica Ellison applied for College membership but was turned down by the College Registrar upon

evaluation of her credentials. The Registration Appeals Committee later reviewed and upheld the Registrar’s decision.

Ellison requested an extension to the 30-day period to appeal the decision of the College’s Registration Appeals Committee to refuse her a Letter of Eligibility allowing her to seek employment as a teacher in publicly funded schools in Ontario.

The College Committee’s decision rested on the fact that Ellison did not have the full-time year of teacher education required by Regulation 184/97 made under the Ontario College of Teachers Act. Ellison argued that the College erred in evaluating her Romanian university degree and specifically the teacher education courses she took as part of her physics degree.

The decisions of the Registration Appeals Committee are not public under the Ontario College of Teachers Act, but become part of the public domain once they are appealed through the justice system.

The Registration Appeals Committee reviewed 57 decisions in 1999 and upheld 53 decisions made by the College’s Registrar. The committee also overturned four decisions after receiving additional information from the applicants.

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