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: Not identified
Decision: Suspension, reprimand and conditions
A Discipline Committee panel suspended and reprimanded a member for leering, using profanity, uttering sexual innuendoes and using derogatory labels for students.
The member, who was certified in May 2001, attended the April 28, 2010 hearing with legal counsel.
A statement of uncontested facts said that a female student complained to administrators that the high school English teacher with the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic DSB referred to her as a “stripper,” “slut” and “pole dancer.”
After receiving complaints about the member’s use of profane language, the board hired a private company to investigate his behaviour. Female students reported that the member leered at them and made comments of a sexual nature about their appearance. On occasion he would refer to female students as “hon” or “babe.” He said that tongue studs were for oral sex. He slapped a girl’s thigh with a metre stick and called students “retard,” “ditsy,” “gay” and “whore.” As a result the board fired the member in August 2008.
The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct after considering a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty, a statement of uncontested facts and the submissions of counsel. He was ordered to appear before the panel for a reprimand. Further, his teaching certificate was suspended for three months. He was told he could limit the suspension to one month provided he completed a course on boundaries and boundary violation issues at his own expense within 30 days of the order.
The full decision appears on the College’s public register.
Member: Dina Calautti
Registration number: 281916
Decision: Suspension, reprimand and conditions
A Discipline Committee panel ordered the Registrar to suspend Dufferin-Peel Catholic DSB teacher Dina Calautti’s teaching certificate for a year because she initiated sexually explicit and inappropriate electronic communication with a 16-year-old male student.
Calautti, who was certified to teach in June 1996, did not attend the April 26, 2010 public hearing but was represented by legal counsel.
Calautti pleaded guilty in November 2008 to criminal charges of luring. Evidence showed that she had entered into an inappropriate personal relationship with a student in November 2007 in which she sent him sexually explicit notes and invited him to kiss her. She did not act on these invitations and provided a statement of remorse to the police. In January 2009 the court granted Calautti a conditional discharge and placed her on 12 months probation.
Having considered the evidence, a plea of no contest, a statement of uncontested facts, a joint submission on penalty and the submissions of counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found Calautti guilty of professional misconduct.
The panel ordered the Registrar to suspend Calautti’s teaching certificate for a year and directed Calautti to appear before the panel for a reprimand. A record of the reprimand will remain on the public register for three years.
She was also ordered to complete a course in appropriate boundaries in student-teacher relations at her own expense and to provide the Registrar with a written certificate from a psychologist prior to returning to work.
“The member’s suspension of her certificate for one year is consistent with the seriousness of the misconduct and the aggravating and mitigating circumstance,” the panel wrote in its decision.
“The committee viewed the member’s actions as serious in nature and took into consideration Judge Keaney’s view that they were at the low end of the spectrum of the charge of Internet luring and constituted an error in judgment rather than criminal behaviour. Moreover, the member received a conditional discharge, which means she will not have a criminal record.
“Judge Keaney noted that the member knew that she was in a position of trust and authority and had blurred student/teacher boundaries. He also took into consideration the extreme personal difficulties that the member faced. He further noted that the member had a very favourable psychological assessment, that there was no physical or sexual activity and that she was at low risk for re-offence.
“Were it not for the mitigating circumstances outlined above, the committee might not have accepted the joint submission and sought revocation of the member’s certificate.”
The panel’s decision appears on the College’s public register.
Member: Not identified
Decision: Reprimand and conditions
A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded a Thames Valley DSB teacher for inappropriate conduct toward two elementary school students.
The elementary teacher, who joined the profession in June 1978, attended the April 13, 2010 hearing with legal counsel.
The teacher allowed the two students to stay indoors with him during the lunch hour and, on occasion, left them unattended. At other times he let the boys watch YouTube videos, unsupervised, on the school computer in his classroom. He had encouraged the boys to call him by his first name in a prior school year and later asked them to stop.
The statement of uncontested facts also indicated that the teacher hugged one boy. On another occasion he gave the boy a birthday card showing a group of bare-chested boys flexing their muscles. The member suggested they go to the Hockey Hall of Fame together or attend a London Knights hockey game but didn’t pursue it. He also gave a disposable camera to the boy and suggested that if he took pictures of other students outside, he, the member, would have them developed. However, the camera was smashed and the film was never developed.
The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct after considering the evidence, a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty, a statement of uncontested facts and the submissions of counsel.
“During the 2007–08 academic year, the member acted unprofessionally towards two male students that crossed the appropriate boundary that teachers must maintain between themselves and their students,” the panel’s written decision states.
As a result, the panel ordered the member to appear before it for a reprimand. It also directed him to complete a course on appropriate boundaries and boundary violation issues at his own expense.
The full decision appears on the College’s public register.
Member: Not identified
Decision: Reprimand and conditions
A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded a private school teacher for downloading items from the personal computer of a colleague without her knowledge or consent.
Certified in March 2006, the member attended the April 13, 2010 hearing with legal counsel.
The facts showed that the part-time physical education teacher and residence don downloaded contents from the computer of the residence head at the school, including her curriculum vitae, without the woman’s approval. The school fired the member as a result.
The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct after considering a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty, a statement of uncontested facts and the submissions of counsel.
She was ordered to appear before the panel for a reprimand. Further, she was directed to complete a course in professional boundaries and ethics at her own expense prior to resuming a teaching position.
The full decision appears on the College’s public register.
Member: Lenny John Francisci
Registration number: 188395
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel ordered the Registrar to revoke the teaching certificate of Lenny Francisci for sexually touching a 17-year-old female student.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic DSB teacher, who was first certified to teach in January 1993, attended the May 10, 2010 public hearing without counsel.
In November 2009 Francisci submitted a plea of guilty in criminal court and was found guilty of one count of sexual exploitation for touching the student. In January this year the court sentenced him to 45 days in jail followed by 12 months probation. On his probation officer’s recommendation, Francisci was ordered to undergo counselling related to issues of behaviour boundaries between a coach or teacher and female athletes.
The Discipline Committee panel found Francisci guilty of professional misconduct after considering the evidence, a plea of guilty, the onus and standard of proof and the submissions of College counsel. The panel ordered the Registrar to revoke Francisci’s teaching licence.
“The committee finds that the member engaged in an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with the student while she was under his care and supervision,” the panel wrote in its decision.
“During the school year, the member and the student were friendly and talked to each other frequently. He drove her home once, even though this was against school policy; he also lent her money for a school trip after the student told him she could not afford to go.”
Between late April and early May, 2007, their relationship intensified and became physical. The pair spent the night at a hotel, resulting in kissing, hugging and heavy petting.
“The member abused the authority and trust vested in him in his role as a teacher, without regard for the well-being of the student,” the panel said. “The member, as a result of his conduct, has forfeited the privilege of holding a teaching certificate and being a member of the teaching profession. Revocation is the appropriate penalty for misconduct of this severity.”
The panel’s decision appears on the College’s public register.
Member: Not identified
Decision: Suspension, reprimand
A Discipline Committee panel ordered the Registrar to suspend the certificate of a member for eight months for breaking and entering the home of a colleague and stealing school property, which he then sold privately.
The secondary teacher with the Near North DSB, who was certified to teach in June 1999, attended the June 16, 2010 public hearing with legal counsel.
The member broke a window in entering the garage of a colleague and stole a Honda generator belonging to the school, which was part of the school’s emergency planning measures. Claiming the generator as his own, the member placed advertisements in three separate online news publications offering it for sale. He sold the generator privately for $950, taking a sick day away from school to complete the transaction. The buyer noticed the school’s initials etched into the engine block and phoned the school principal to check the legitimacy of the sale. Subsequently, police investigated.
In October 2008 the member was convicted of breaking and entering. He was given a suspended sentence, placed on six months probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service work.
The member claimed that, at the time of the events, he was under emotional stress owing to marital problems and financial pressures caused by an ongoing custody dispute and family debt. Voluntarily, however, he attended counselling through the board’s employee assistance program for five to six months. He also made full financial restitution in the spring of 2008.
Having considered the evidence, a plea of no contest, a memorandum of agreement, a joint submission on penalty and the submissions of the College’s Dispute Resolution officer and the member’s counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct.
The panel ordered the member to appear before it for a reprimand. Further, the panel directed the College’s Registrar to suspend the member’s certificate for eight months.
Prior to setting penalty, the panel considered the intense emotional stress of the member at the time of the actions and the fact that he made restitution, underwent counselling and paid for repairs to the private residence where the generator was stored.
“A suspension of the member’s certificate for eight months is appropriate in this case in light of the serious nature of the misconduct and the fact that the member knowingly contravened the law,” the panel wrote in its decision. “In spite of the fact that there were mitigating factors, the premeditated nature of the member’s actions necessitated a serious penalty. A suspension of eight months serves notice to the profession and to the public that criminal activity will not be tolerated.”
The full decision appears on the College’s public register.
Member: Dany Gilbert Guimond
Registration number: 201485
Decision: Revocation
A panel of the Discipline Committee directed the Registrar to revoke the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Dany Gilbert Guimond for conducting conversations and a relationship that did not respect the boundaries of a student-teacher relationship and engaging in inappropriate sexual actions with a student.
The panel further directed that the member make no application for the reinstatement of his certificate for at least five years.
The member did not attend the hearing on June 8, 2010 but was represented by counsel.
The member was certified to teach in 1994 and, during the period of the aforementioned events, taught for the conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud.
Specifically, the member exchanged e-mail of an inappropriate personal nature with a student, had a relationship with her that did not respect the boundaries of a student-teacher relationship, drove her home in his car after extracurricular activities or after class, and spent time alone with her in his office at the school and outside school premises, in addition to conducting inappropriate sexual conversations and engaging in inappropriate sexual actions with her.
After reviewing the evidence that was produced and relying on the plea of no contest, the agreed statement of facts, the submission by counsel and the joint submission on penalty, the panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct.
The panel noted that the revocation of the member’s certification to teach and the order to make no application for the reinstatement of his certificate for at least five years, “clearly conveys the teaching profession’s refusal to compromise with respect to the sexual conduct of its members.”
The decision appears on the College’s public register.
Glossary of terms
The vocabulary used to report disciplinary hearings reflects their quasi-judicial nature. For a glossary of terms, visit www.oct.ca.
