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Discipline Panel DecisionsPanels of the Discipline Committee have ordered summaries of recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking. Member: Stéphane Léonard Bélanger A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on March 24, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence against Stéphane Léonard Bélanger. Bélanger was certified to teach in 1998 and was employed by the Conseil scolaire de district catholique du Centre-Est de l'Ontario in Ottawa. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. The member faced nine allegations of professional misconduct related to inappropriate interaction with a 15-year-old student. Counsel for the College withdrew two of the allegations at the opening of the hearing. In the absence of the member, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Bélanger. The panel heard evidence from a female student that during the 2001-02 school year, she received special treatment from Bélanger. The member called on her more often in class, celebrated her 15th birthday by showing a film in class, changed a test mark to a better grade based on a verbal response given after the test and offered to pay for her to go on a ski trip. The student testified that Bélanger visited her where she worked part time, sometimes paying for her lunch. He told her he loved her and wanted to marry her. He gave her his home and cell phone numbers and the two exchanged e-mails. Bélanger created a special e-mail account exclusively for the student so that her parents wouldn't know they were communicating. Bélanger took her to his apartment on several occasions and in late January 2002, he took her to his apartment and they had sex. When she returned home, she told her mother what had happened and her mother took her to the hospital. The principal of the school testified that he met with Bélanger in the spring of 2001 and again in the fall about rumours that he was socializing with students. At that time, the member admitted he had been drinking in bars with students he knew were underage. The principal warned him that his actions were unacceptable behaviour for a member of the profession. In early January 2002, the parents complained to the principal about Bélanger's relationship with their daughter. The principal subsequently told the member he was not to meet with any student without a colleague present, was not to offer rides in his car to students nor socialize with them outside the school. Bélanger said he accepted the conditions but resigned later that month at the end of the semester. The principal said he later learned the member was working for another school board. The panel heard evidence from a social worker with the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa-Carleton who was assigned to the case in early January 2002. The social worker interviewed the student and Bélanger. The student said that the member had kissed her. Bélanger denied that he had any sexual feelings for the student. The social worker said she received a call in late January from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario advising her that Bélanger had had sexual relations with the student. The panel accepted the evidence as presented by the student, the principal and the social worker. The panel found that the member abused the student sexually, psychologically and emotionally by fostering an inappropriate emotional and psychological relationship with the student that ended with kissing, touching and sexual intercourse. The panel ordered Bélanger's Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked and that he not be allowed to reapply for membership in the College for 10 years. Member: Robert William Bridgeman A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on September 20, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct against Robert William Bridgeman. Bridgeman was certified to teach in 1984 and was employed by the London Board of Education. Bridgeman did not attend the hearing nor was he represented by counsel. Bridgeman faced seven allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence related to his conviction for sexual assault of a young male. In Bridgeman's absence, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. The panel received evidence that between 1983 and 1988 Bridgeman sexually assaulted a young male, beginning when the victim was approximately 10 years old. The assaults included showing the victim pornographic movies and offering him alcohol and illegal drugs. In November 2001, Bridgeman was found guilty of sexual assault and gross indecency under the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. The member appealed both the conviction and the sentence and lost both appeals. The panel found Bridgeman guilty of professional misconduct. The panel ordered that his Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked and that he not be eligible to apply for reinstatement in the College for a period of 10 years. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Dale Fisher A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on October 5, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct against Dale Fisher. Fisher was certified to teach in 1979 and was employed by the Grand Erie District School Board. Fisher attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. Fisher faced six allegations of professional misconduct related to distribution of child pornography. At the beginning of the hearing, the College withdrew three of the allegations related to failing to comply with the Ontario College of Teachers Act. The panel received an agreed statement of facts and guilty plea in which Fisher admitted to distributing child pornography. According to the agreed statement, in August 2000 and in September 2000, Fisher visited an Internet chat room and represented himself to be a young girl of about 12 years of age who was interested in having sex with men. In each instance, in the course of conversing with a male, he sent a different electronic image of a nude prepubescent female in a sexually explicit pose. According to the agreed statement, the images fell within the definition of child pornography as set out in the Criminal Code. In April 2003, Fisher pleaded guilty to two charges under the Criminal Code of distributing child pornography. The member was given a conditional discharge and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. The panel received in evidence reports by a psychiatrist who treated Fisher for over two years and from a criminologist and a forensic psychiatrist who submitted reports at Fisher's criminal trial. All three practitioners testified that Fisher was not a pedophile and was not a danger to the public or to minors. The panel found Fisher guilty of professional misconduct. Counsel for the College and the member were not in agreement on the penalty to be imposed. College Counsel submitted that revocation would serve as a general deterrent to members of the College, protect and maintain the high standards of the profession and maintain the public's confidence in the teaching profession. The member's counsel argued that revocation was too high a penalty, given that protection of the public was not an issue and said that an appropriate penalty was suspension for up to 12 months. The panel ordered that the member's Certificates of Qualification and Registration be suspended for 22 months. In its written decision, the panel noted that it felt that a strong message needed to be sent to the profession that this type of conduct will not be tolerated. The panel took into consideration that there was no evidence that Fisher used the images as a grooming tool or to promote the abuse of children nor was there evidence that he had ever engaged in unprofessional conduct prior to criminal charges being laid. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Mark Anthony Hancock A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on November 16, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct against Mark Anthony Hancock. Hancock was certified to teach in 1996 and was employed by the Upper Canada District School Board. Hancock did not attend the hearing but was represented by counsel. Hancock faced seven allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence related to an inappropriate relationship with a female student. The panel received an agreed statement of facts and guilty plea in which Hancock admitted that in the 2002-03 school year he behaved inappropriately with a female student, including engaging in sexual intercourse. The agreed statement of facts described incidents of increasingly personal contacts between Hancock and the student, whom he taught from Grade 11. Hancock admitted that during 2002-03, the student's OAC school year, he confided to the student about his personal, marital and financial problems, arranged for her to babysit his children and engaged in a physical relationship with her that progressed to sexual intercourse in March 2003 and continued after the 2002-03 academic year. The relationship included Hancock telling the student that she should leave her parents' house before they destroyed her, giving her a key to his office at school, spending time with her alone in his office with the door closed and the windows covered, spending time alone with her at the school during evenings and weekends and giving her a cell phone so that he could keep in touch with her. Between February and June 2003, Hancock sent e-mails to the student telling her he loved her, making unflattering comments about her parents and sister, telling her she had to choose between him and her parents, giving her $1,000, telling her that his children wanted them to get married and asking her to marry him. At the end of March, Hancock bought the student an engagement ring and allowed her to sleep over at his house while his wife and children were away. In April, the member's wife died unexpectedly. Despite a letter from the school board in May directing Hancock to have no contact with the student or her family, the member continued his relationship with the student. The panel found Hancock guilty of professional misconduct and incompetence and ordered that his Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Name Withheld A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on October 4, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct against a male teacher who was employed by an Ontario school board. The member attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. The member faced six allegations of professional misconduct related to sexual and physical assault involving seven young people with whom he occupied a position of trust. The panel received an agreed statement of facts and guilty plea. According to the agreed statement of facts, the member admitted to committing acts of sexual assault, sexual touching, physical assault and uttering threats to cause serious bodily injury. The acts involved four people with whom he was in a position of trust. Sexual assaults on one of the victims occurred from the time she was two years old. In March 2002, the member pleaded guilty to nine charges under the Criminal Code of indecent assault, gross indecency, assault and assault causing bodily harm. The assaults took place between 1978 and 1995 and involved five females with whom the member occupied a position of trust. The member was sentenced to imprisonment for two years less a day to be served in the community. The crown appealed the sentence and the member was given a custodial sentence of 28 months less six months for the time of the conditional sentence already served. The panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked. The panel ordered that he not be able to reapply for membership in the College for five years. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Terrance O'Brien A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on October 6, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct against Terrance O'Brien. O'Brien was certified to teach in 1970 and was employed by the Renfrew County District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. The member faced nine allegations of professional misconduct related to sexual assault involving a number of male students. In O'Brien's absence, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. The panel received evidence that in February 2002 O'Brien was found guilty of charges under the Criminal Code of sexual assault and sexual touching involving five male students, three of whom were under the age of 14. The assaults took place between 1992 and 1997 and involved students who had difficult family situations and/or difficulties at school. In addition to the assaults, some of which occurred on school property, O'Brien watched pornographic movies with them, made sexually explicit remarks to them and gave them alcohol. The judge who presided over O'Brien's criminal trial found that O'Brien had manipulated and preyed on boys who were most vulnerable. O'Brien was sentenced to five years in prison and barred for 10 years from any facility where there would be children under the age of 14. The court documents presented to the panel included impact statements from the victims that described how, in all cases, the member's conduct has been devastating to them. Some have turned to drugs and alcohol and some have considered suicide. The panel found O'Brien guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Qualification and Registration revoked. The panel ordered that the member not be eligible to apply for reinstatement in the College for 10 years. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Stephen Owusu-Ansah A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on December 1 and 2, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence against Stephen Owusu-Ansah. Owusu-Ansah was certified to teach in 1994 and was employed by what is now the Toronto District School Board. Owusu-Ansah did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. Owusu-Ansah faced seven allegations of professional misconduct related to sexual touching of female students under the age of 14. In the absence of the member, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on Owusu-Ansah's behalf. The panel heard evidence that in March 1995 three students complained to a teacher that the member had touched their breasts. They told the teacher that Owusu-Ansah had them play a game in the classroom in which they were required to put their heads on their folded arms on their desks, with their eyes closed. During the game, seven students were chosen by being touched on the head and shoulders. The three girls said that the member had chosen them by putting his hand alongside their breast and pressing. The principal of the school told the panel that the students were in tears and obvious discomfort in reporting the behaviour. They expressed anger, dismay and embarrassment about the incidents. The principal testified that she never doubted the account given by the students, who were highly regarded by staff and other students. The next day three other girls made similar complaints. A Children's Aid Society (CAS) supervisor testified that the CAS had investigated and concluded that the member had been sexually inappropriate with students. Owusu-Ansah's name was placed on the Child Abuse Register. The member had been given an opportunity to examine the register and request that his name be removed or amended. He did not respond. Two of the students, now in postsecondary studies, testified at the hearing. One student told the panel that she had had a hard time dealing with the experience and it had affected her relations with teachers and boys in subsequent school years. The panel heard evidence that Owusu-Ansah was charged under the Criminal Code with five counts of sexual assault and sexual interference. In a 1997 decision, the trial judge accepted that the events had occurred as the students reported, but he said that he was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt the touching was done for a sexual purpose. Owusu-Ansah was acquitted. The panel also heard testimony from the principal of another school where Owusu-Ansah was working in 2000. The principal told the panel that in the spring of 2000 a nine-year-old student complained that Owusu-Ansah had touched her inappropriately. The day before, five students had come to the principal to say they had seen pictures of naked women on the member's computer screen in the classroom. Owusu-Ansah was charged under the Criminal Code with sexual assault and sexual interference. In 2001 the charges were withdrawn when the member resigned his teaching position and agreed not to teach in Canada. The panel found that the evidence supported a finding of professional misconduct. The panel accepted the testimony of the students and other witnesses who testified about the March 1995 incidents, and the panel members concluded that Owusu-Ansah had touched the students for a sexual purpose. The panel ordered that the member's Certificates of Qualification and Registration be revoked and that he be fined $5,000 to cover the costs incurred by the College in attempting to locate and communicate with him. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: James Leo Ryckman A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on October 5, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct against James Leo Ryckman. Ryckman was certified to teach in 1963 and was employed by the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board. The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel. The member faced nine allegations of professional misconduct related to sexual assault involving two females under the age of 14. In Ryckman's absence, the chair of the panel entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. The panel received evidence that between 1999 and 2002, Ryckman sexually assaulted two females under the age of 14 on numerous occasions. He was charged under the Criminal Code in January 2002 and released on his own recognizance. Ryckman was ordered not to associate with persons under the age of 16 unless in the company of an adult. He was later charged with breaching those conditions. In 2003 Ryckman was convicted on six counts under the Criminal Code of sexual assault, sexual touching and failing to comply with bail conditions. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Victim-impact statements presented to the panel as part of the court documents described the emotionally devastating effect Ryckman's actions had had on them and their families. Both victims spoke of depression, the need to escape memories, ongoing feelings of insecurity and the inability to trust people. The panel found Ryckman guilty of professional misconduct and ordered his Certificates of Qualification and Registration revoked. The panel also ordered that he not be able to apply for reinstatement in the College for five years. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. Member: Frank Angelo Sacino A panel of the Discipline Committee held a public hearing on October 21, 2004, into allegations of professional misconduct against Frank Angelo Sacino. Sacino was certified to teach in 1989 and was employed by the Halton Catholic District School Board. Sacino attended the hearing and was represented by counsel. Sacino faced seven allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence related to inappropriate behaviour with a number of male students. The panel received an agreed statement of facts, a guilty plea and a joint submission on penalty in which Sacino admitted that on a number of occasions he behaved inappropriately with a number of students. During 1996-97, at one school, the member made inappropriate physical contact with a number of students. After a student complained, the board wrote to the member setting out expectations for teachers concerning their interaction with students. During the 1999-2000 school year, a student complained that the content of a class taught by Sacino constituted harassment. After an investigation, the member acknowledged that he had engaged in inappropriate conduct and apologized to the student and completed personal counselling. Sacino also admitted that during the 2000-01 school year he often asked students to hug him, telephoned a student at his home on a number of occasions, during the course of a conversation with a student hinted at the content of an upcoming exam, gossiped with students about teachers at the school, drove students home, called a student at his place of part-time employment, on at least two occasions blocked the classroom exit when one student refused to give him a hug, took a student to his apartment to wait for him while he changed, and struck a student with a paperback book on the back of the head. The agreed statement also acknowledged that on some occasions some students initiated hugs with the member and some of the students also called the member at his home. In February 2002, Sacino was charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and common assault. The member was acquitted on all counts. The panel accepted Sacino's plea of guilty and found the member guilty of professional misconduct. The panel ordered that Sacino be reprimanded and the fact of the reprimand be recorded on the public register for one year. The panel also ordered the member take, at his own expense, a program of study concerning appropriate student-teacher boundaries. He must provide evidence to the Registrar that he has successfully completed the program and may not return to teaching or any employment requiring Certificates of Qualification and Registration until September 2005. The decision of the panel appears on the College's public register. |
