Hearings

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. Members found guilty of incompetence or professional misconduct may have their certificate revoked, suspended or limited. In professional misconduct matters only, the committee may also reprimand, admonish or counsel the member, impose a fine, order the member to pay costs or publish the order in Professionally Speaking.


Discipline Committee panels have ordered that summaries of these recent disciplinary cases be published in Professionally Speaking. Copies of the full decisions are available at oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.


Also available online are decisions and memorandums of agreement ratified by Investigation Committee panels that explicitly stipulate that documents will be made available through the College’s library or Quicklaw, a legal subscription service, or other means.

HEARINGS

Member: Stephen Edward Fletcher
Registration No: 253471
Decision: Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Stephen Edward Fletcher, a teacher with the Halton DSB, for engaging in an inappropriate and unprofessional personal relationship with a female student, which culminated in a criminal conviction for sexual exploitation.

Certified to teach in 1991, he attended the February 26, 2013, hearing and was self-represented.

From April 2010 to January 2011, Fletcher developed a “dating relationship” with a student, which included exchanging phone numbers, kissing, introducing her to his daughter, and sharing family activities such as cooking and movie nights. The student’s mother specifically requested that he end the relationship and, despite agreeing, he did not.

In August 2011, Fletcher pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation and was sentenced to a 14-day intermittent jail sentence and 18 months of probation.

The member argued that he recognized that he had made a mistake and stated that he did not think that kissing was considered sexual abuse. He explained that the student ate her lunch with teachers, appeared more comfortable with adults than with her peers and was easy to talk to.

The Discipline Committee panel was not convinced that the member had a full understanding of the importance of respecting student-teacher boundaries and that he continued to try to justify his actions by referring to the maturity of the student. “It is unlikely that a teacher with 20 years of experience would not be aware that this conduct was unprofessional and unbecoming of a member of the profession, especially given the fact that the student’s mother requested that he end the relationship,” the panel said in its written decision.

Having considered the evidence, the onus and standard of proof, and submissions made by College counsel and the member, the panel found Fletcher guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the Registrar to revoke his certificate.

Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.


Member: Yusuf Ali Talukder
Registration No: 474890
Decision: Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel ordered that the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Toronto private school principal Yusuf Ali Talukder be revoked in connection with a criminal conviction for sexual assault and sexual interference involving a 13-year-old student.

Talukder, who was certified in May 2005, was not present or represented at the March 26, 2013, hearing.

In November 2007, Talukder sexually touched a 13-year-old girl whom he was tutoring at the school, resulting in criminal charges and a court finding in May 2010 of guilt in touching a person under 14 for sexual purposes and for sexual assault. He was sentenced to six months in jail followed by three years’ probation. Further, he was prohibited for 10 years from attending a public park, swimming area, daycare centre, school ground, playground or community centre where anyone under 16 is present; using a computer system to communicate with anyone under 16; or seeking paid employment or a volunteer position that involves being in a position of trust or authority toward anyone under 16.

Having considered the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found Talukder guilty of professional misconduct. The panel ordered the Registrar to revoke Talukder’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.


Member: Stewart Montague Adams
Registration No: 100893
Decision: Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Stewart Montague Adams after hearing allegations of professional misconduct related to criminal convictions for accessing, possessing and making available child pornography between February and June 2010.

A teacher with the Toronto DSB, Adams was certified to teach in 1994. He did not attend the May 22, 2013, hearing and was not represented by legal counsel.

In January 2012, Adams pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was sentenced to 53 months in jail and three years probation.

College counsel submitted that Adams had amassed a shockingly vast amount of child pornography. In total, there were 192,327 images of children, 677 child pornography videos and 37 child pornography movies. He had made his collection available to broader distribution via a peer-to-peer network.

The court prohibited him from the following for 20 years:

Having considered the evidence, the onus and standard of proof, and submissions made by College counsel, the panel found Adams guilty of professional misconduct and revoked his certificate.

The committee found that accessing, possessing and making available child pornography are among the most heinous crimes in our society, targeting children and perpetuating a market that thrives on the exploitation and abuse of children.

Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.


Member: Brian Douglas Jones
Registration No: 483060
Decision: Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Brian Douglas Jones after conducting a hearing into allegations of professional misconduct related to criminal convictions for sexual exploitation and obstructing justice.

Jones was certified to teach in 2004. He did not attend the May 29, 2013, hearing and was not represented by legal counsel.

In October 2012, Jones pleaded guilty to criminal charges of sexual exploitation and obstructing justice in relation to his conduct toward a female student between January 2005 and December 2006. Jones was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail and prohibited from the following for 20 years:

The evidence presented at the hearing confirmed that Jones provided the student with cigarettes, used marijuana and consumed alcohol with her, and had an ongoing sexual relationship with her. In addition, he obstructed the course of justice by counselling her to lie to the police during their investigation.

Having considered the evidence, the onus and standard of proof, and submissions made by College counsel, the panel found Jones guilty of professional misconduct and revoked his certificate.

Information about the disciplinary action appears online at
oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.